History of inverted nipples.
> Used shells during pregnancy, pumped with baby, and gave all EBM in bottle
>for 3 months.  Then quit!
>

Loretta, her baby can feed at her breast with inverted nipples.  And as we
all know, another mother who didn't have inverted nipples could have "pumped
with baby, and gave all EBM in bottle for 3 months.  Then quit!"

I worked with a mom who had NO nipples, nothing stood out at all.  There
were openings in what was sort of round, but nothing ever made any eversion.
It took her baby 6 weeks to learn that this is how it is. Mom did cup
feeding, some finger feeding and some tube on breast feeding.  And lots of
skin contact.  One day as she was sleeping with him on her chest he latched
on to the "breast" --not nipple.  It wasn't all resolved that day, but it
was surely a start.  When he was totally at breast her "nipple area" was
sore so she alternated one breast for a few days while the other one healed.
This lasted for a few weeks and then all was resolved and he is still
breastfeeding at 4 years old.  When anyone asks her how long she plans to
nurse she replies," As long as I want to!"

Now, women who have nipples other than the kind that make the b'feeding
films, in other words, flat, inverted, wide, short, or nonexistent, are
poorly served when their babies have ANYTHING in their mouths other than
mom's breast--pacifiers, teats, or  fingers. And they don't need someone
pressing their infant's mouths on their breasts creating breast aversion.

Of course, they would do better if there weren't epidurals and pitocin and
IVs to add another hurdle.  If she is reminded  that this is a new baby and
a new experience and that there are steps she can take to lessen the
possibility of problems she can go into it without a sense of doom. Perhaps
she could contact LLL and talk with another mother with inverted nipples
whose baby did feed well.

I think breast shells and nipple rolling during pregnancy do help.  Inverted
nipples aren't unusual, and neither are satisfying breastfeeding experiences
with them.

Patricia Gima, IBCLC
Milwaukee



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