Flat nipples and breastfeeding, Advice needed!

[lovemybabyboy]

Hi all,

Just looking for some advice really, I am 29+3 weeks pregnant with DC2, I breastfed DS for 7 months but it started off a bit rocky, My nipples are not completely flat but dont stick out as much as normal, midwife said they are 'a bit flat' after i had DS. It caused a problem with him latching on...he couldnt get a good grip and lost a lot of weight in the first week or so...the community midwife suggested that i use nipple protectors to give him something to grab on to...after a few months i didnt need to use them all the time, just sometimes.

I was just wondering if there is anything i can do in advance to make my nipples stick out a bit more before i have my baby so i dont need to use nipple protectors...Obviously i will use them if i have too...just think it would be easier not to have to use them!

Sorry if tmi!

thanks in advance

i've seen a thing called "latch assist" which i think sucks the nipple out a bit - you could try that.

i have one flatish nipple and found that squeezing the areola when latching on helped the baby latch.

have you thought about expressing a bit of colostrum before your baby is born so that you have a supply for syringe/cup if things are difficult in the beginning?

good luck

I will watch this thread with interest. I'm 34 weeks pregnant with my first baby, and I have flat nipples too (one worse than the other - it has a horizontal crease in it as well). I'm worried because I so desperately want to breastfeed. I have bought Latch Assist from Lansinoh and nipple shields for emergencies, but I'd love to know about any particular positions or techniques to get a good latch without shields, etc.

This is useful info on flat nipples:

www.motherandchildhealth.com/Breastfeeding/Becky/inverted.html

www.breastfeedingbasics.com/html/flat_inverted.shtml

www.babymoonboutique.com/Flat.pdf

(Links from kellymom.com)

Thank you all, great advice there

Flat or inverted nipples shouldn't impact on breastfeeding - although sadly I have heard several stories of midwives blaming difficulties on this.

Thing to remember is that baby will be breastfeeding, not nipple feeding. Yes the milk comes out of the nipple, but that's because baby is squeezing the breast tissue around the areola to get the milk out. He needs to open wide and get a big mouthful of breast to do this.

Someone gave me a great analogy to explain this. Imagine a cupcake with a nice cherry on top. You are very partial to a cupcake and have every intention of getting a large mouthful of sponge in your gob, icing first. Now, remove the cherry. Does this hinder your plans?