Anatomy of nipples and their functions
In addition to the appearance of the bust, the appearance of the nipples is also important. They come in different shades, and unlike their size and roundness, they change slightly throughout life.
The main option of nipples is lactation. In men, nipples are vestigial, while in women they perform the important function of feeding the offspring. If they have a sunken shape, then the mother may have difficulty feeding the newborn.
Externally, the nipples look like small elevations with wrinkles, folds, and depressions, surrounded by skin of a slightly darker shade - the areola. They change color intensity over the course of a lifetime and even a month: during menstruation, during pregnancy and lactation, and when a woman is sexually aroused or cold, the nipples tend to harden and appear through clothing. If pimples on the areola become noticeable, this may be a harbinger of pregnancy.
An important feature of the female breast is increased sensitivity. The slightest touch can cause a severe reaction, not to mention squeezing or shock. Some girls note that even a cotton T-shirt worn over a naked body rubs their nipples. Changes in nipple hardness and fluctuations in sensitivity are completely normal for the female body and depend on various factors: temperature, emotional state, phase of the menstrual cycle.
Anatomy of nipples and their functions
Pathologies
Approximately every tenth woman reports nipple deformation. Most often, a doctor is consulted with a problem such as acquired hollowness or the location of the nipples at the same level as the areola.
Unfortunately, the pathological process associated with retraction can occur unnoticed over a fairly long period, during which the woman does not notice anything.
For many, the problem manifests itself already during pregnancy, and during lactation it becomes an obstacle to the normal feeding process. In some cases, this leads to the development of lactostasis and mastitis.
How does nipple retraction occur? The mechanism of development of the pathology is as follows: in the area of the nipple, just where the ducts of the mammary gland end and are attached, the process of replacing ordinary tissues with connective or sclerotic ones begins. The growth of fibrous tissue leads to intense tension or retraction of the nipples.
The first thing to do is to check the mammary glands for the presence of tumors, especially if pain occurs. You should be wary of lumps, fluid leaking from the nipples, scratches and crusts.
Diagnosis should be carried out by a mammologist or gynecologist. A qualified specialist will refer the woman to undergo the necessary tests (sometimes even bacterial examination of the nipples), breast ultrasound and mammography.
Areola and nipples - what are they?
The shape of the areola is different. The most common ones are a circle, an oval or a blurred circle, the color of which blends with the skin around it. By type, the following groups of nipples and areolas can be distinguished.
- Flat
. Flat nipples are barely visible on the areola. They do not react to sexual stimulation or cold, remaining pressed into the surface, and this is a type of norm. - Convex
. Protruding nipples look like small buttons that rise 3-5 mm above the surface of the chest. The most typical appearance, characteristic of most representatives of the fair sex. - Not the same
. Sometimes girls have different shapes not only of their breasts, but also of their nipples themselves. Typically, such a feature is not a cause for alarm or a deviation; rather, it is a variation of the normal state after a girl’s puberty. - Retracted
. Sunken nipples, if they have been like this since adolescence, seem to be a normal phenomenon, but if this is discovered only after 16 years, then you should consult a mammologist for advice. This will help prevent the development of serious breast diseases. - With vegetation
. There may be a slight fluff on the nipple - natural vegetation throughout the skin. However, sometimes hair grows excessively, filling the chest, and then we are talking about male-type hair growth. Excessive hair growth indicates hormonal imbalances or is a side effect of taking certain medications. Women can remove hair for aesthetic purposes, but they should definitely find the cause of the phenomenon together with a gynecologist-endocrinologist. - Swollen
. In this case, the nipple, together with the areola, forms a soft cone, and during menstruation it rises along with the swelling of the mammary glands. - Lumpy
. If a girl has bumps or even bumps around her nipples, this is almost always a completely healthy phenomenon. However, it is worth regularly self-examining yourself for lumps and visiting a mammologist at least once a year. The lumps on the chest are called Montgomery glands. The nipple circumference with pimples is absolutely natural and normal. The irregularities may increase or decrease, but they do not pose any problem (except perhaps of an aesthetic nature). - Additional
. Some women may have more than two nipples. Unformed areolas are more like birthmarks and require careful medical supervision.
The most common shapes and types of female breast nipples
How to choose a pacifier for a baby
For most young parents, a pacifier is one of the essential items purchased for the birth of a baby. But looking at the variety of models, shapes, materials, it’s easy to get confused. In this article we will figure out how to choose a pacifier for a child, what you should pay attention to, and also answer the main questions that concern parents.
Why do you need a pacifier?
One of the strongest reflexes of a newborn is sucking. It is necessary for survival: within a few minutes after birth, the baby begins to smack his lips in search of his mother’s breast. To ensure they have enough milk, babies often literally “hang” on the breast in the first days after birth. In addition to receiving nutrition itself, with the help of sucking the baby calms down, relaxes, it is easier for him to fall asleep, pass gas or poop.
There are situations when a child cannot satisfy the sucking reflex with the breast:
- for some reason my mother is not around,
- he is bottle-fed,
- The mother has breast injuries/cracks in the nipples, and she cannot breastfeed in the volume required by the baby, or she feeds him with expressed milk.
Then a pacifier comes to the rescue.
Is it possible to give a pacifier to a newborn?
The World Health Organization discourages the use of pacifiers during exclusive breastfeeding, especially for newborns. For bottle-fed babies, on the contrary, the nipple is indicated for use from birth.
In nature, everything is thought out. When a baby is born, the sucking reflex causes him to often seek the breast and suck a lot. Thus, it stimulates milk production in the mother. After some time, this process is fine-tuned, and in response to sucking, exactly as much milk as a particular baby needs begins to be produced. If at the same time the baby also sucks a pacifier, he may not stimulate the breasts enough and not eat enough, which will lead to insufficient weight gain and hypogalactia (insufficient milk production in the mother).
At what age can you give a pacifier?
Around the third month of a child’s life, the mother begins to develop mature lactation. If by this moment feeding is established, does not cause discomfort in the mother, and the baby’s weight gain corresponds to the norms, then the use of a pacifier will most likely no longer have a negative effect on breastfeeding. This means that mom can use it if necessary. At the same time, you need to ensure that you maintain proper attachment to the breast so that feeding does not cause discomfort to anyone.
If there are no problems with latching or weight gain, you can try introducing the pacifier earlier, but it is important to ensure that it does not interfere with breastfeeding.
How to choose a pacifier size?
Each manufacturer has its own size chart for pacifiers. The appropriate age range is indicated on the packaging. The younger the specified age, the smaller the nipple will be.
For example:
0—3 months, or 0+ 3—6 months 6—12 months 12+
Latex pacifier or silicone?
Latex and silicone are the main materials from which baby pacifiers are made.
1. Latex is a natural material. Latex pacifiers have a characteristic yellow color and a specific aroma.
2. Silicone is a synthetic hypoallergenic material. Silicone nipples are transparent and have no taste or smell.
Which pacifier shape should I choose?
1. Classic pacifiers - round, “cherry”
These are the most common pacifiers, familiar to us since childhood. They have the shape of a ball, tapering closer to the limiter. This shape is also called a cherry.
2. Orthodontic (anatomical) pacifiers
They have a special shape that takes into account the anatomical structure of the baby’s oral cavity - convex on the side of the upper palate and flattened on the side of the tongue. These pacifiers are preferred by most dentists.
3. Symmetrical pacifiers
They have the shape of a ball, drop, cone, etc., symmetrically flattened on both sides.
Protective disc (mouthpiece, pacifier base). What should you pay attention to?
- It is convenient if the base of the nipple has a recess for the nose (traditional shape) or recesses on both sides - top and bottom (figure eight or butterfly shape).
- The presence of through holes on the mouthpiece (more than 5 mm) will ensure good ventilation of the skin around the mouth. Some manufacturers make the surface of the mouthpiece on the mouth side embossed for the same purpose. This will also help prevent saliva from collecting under the nipple, which can cause diaper rash on the skin.
- Presence or absence of a ring. A very young child may involuntarily grab the ring with his fingers and pull the pacifier out of his mouth. A pacifier without a ring is more convenient to use while sleeping. However, a pacifier with a ring is more convenient to insert/remove from the baby’s mouth, and you can also attach a special holder to it—a ribbon with a clip—to prevent the pacifier from falling. Manufacturers often add a fluorescent substance to the ring, making it glow and making the pacifier easy to find in the dark.
- The mouthpiece can be made of latex or various types of plastic. In the second case, you should make sure that it does not contain bisphenol A (BPA free mark on the packaging).
Which pacifier to choose for a newborn?
Usually, parents choose a pacifier based on their ideas - for some, environmental friendliness of materials and orthodontic shape are important, for others it is based on appearance and design.
But the baby can make his own adjustments to this process and simply refuse the best pacifier, carefully chosen for him by his parents, in favor of some other one, or not take a pacifier at all.
You may have to purchase several models to choose from and experiment with shape, size and materials. The baby will choose the pacifier he likes.
How to sterilize nipples?
The instructions for each product indicate the permitted sterilization methods. Most often, mothers use boiling:
- in a container on the stove,
- in a slow cooker,
- in the microwave,
- in a special sterilizer.
You can also sterilize the pacifier by steaming or simply keeping it in boiling water for a while.
What to do if the baby does not want to take the pacifier:
- Keep it in warm water before giving it to your child. Many children don't like cold material.
- Dip the nipple into the mixture or drop expressed milk onto it. The familiar taste may interest the baby.
- Offer your child a different model.
At what age and how to wean off the pacifier?
Pediatricians recommend not using a pacifier after the child reaches 2 years of age - by this age the sucking reflex practically fades away.
You can start gradually and gently weaning off the pacifier from 1.5 years of age or earlier, if the baby does not have a great need for it.
It is best to teach your child in advance various ways to calm him down - pick him up, hug him, caress him, distract him. This will help him avoid psychological dependence on the pacifier.
You should not wean your child off the pacifier during illness or a stressful period (for example, when moving, separation from mother, on a trip, at the birth of a brother or sister).
The pacifier is the main way to satisfy the sucking reflex of a bottle-fed baby and an additional way when breastfeeding. For bottle-fed babies, a pacifier is indicated from birth, but for infants it is better to wait until lactation begins, which occurs at approximately 3 months of age. Pacifiers come in silicone and latex. According to the shape, it is better to choose orthodontic ones, but the baby may like another option. It is good if the base of the nipple has recesses and holes for ventilation. To sterilize pacifiers, use boiling, steaming, or immersing them in boiling water for some time. It is not recommended to use a pacifier after the child reaches the age of 2 years. To avoid psychological attachment to the pacifier, it is better to teach your baby to calm down in various ways in advance.
*The ideal food for an infant is mother's milk. WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months. MAMAKO® supports this recommendation. Before introducing new foods into your baby’s diet, consult a specialist.
Shade of nipples and areola
The color of the nipples and circumference may vary depending on the initial skin tone, metabolic characteristics, phase of the cycle, and the general state of the body (pregnancy, puberty, and others). Pink, beige, brown, coral and even chocolate for dark-skinned beauties - the shades can be very different. If the bulge itself differs from the color of the areola, this is not a deviation, although more often they still merge.
After breastfeeding, women note that the areola and nipple become brighter, darker, and more expressive. There are women whose nipple shade matches their skin tone or differs slightly - in this case, it is not easy to understand at first glance where the circumference ends and the bust itself begins. This makes some women uneasy. Fortunately, there is a procedure for permanent tattooing of the areola, which helps correct imperfections and make the circle richer, giving the breast a complete look and saving its owner from a possible complex.
Different color nipples
Surgical treatment of inverted nipples
The surgical procedure depends on whether the patient plans to become pregnant in the future. If pregnancy is planned, the surgeon preserves the integrity of the milk ducts; if not, he dissects them. There is no big difference in the final results, but you should be aware that the preservation of the milk ducts can cause repeated nipple retraction (although the risk is still very small).
Regardless of whether the milk ducts are dissected, the operation can be performed either under local anesthesia or general anesthesia. To achieve better results and high aesthetics, the work is performed under a microscope.
Progress of the operation with preservation of the milk ducts:
- Anesthesia.
- Making incisions several mm long extending from the nipple.
- Release of the nipple and prolongation of the milk ducts.
- Creation of a triangular skin flap.
- Nipple pulling.
- Stitching.
The operation to correct the nipple while preserving the milk ducts lasts about 40 minutes.
Plastic surgery of inverted nipples with dissection of the milk ducts has a slightly different procedure:
- Anesthesia.
- Nipple incision.
- Dissection of the milk ducts.
- Stopping the bleeding.
- Applying internal sutures.
- Applying external sutures.
This operation lasts about an hour.
Nipple direction and methods to correct it
The papillae can “look” in different directions, just like the breasts themselves. Straight, slightly down, in different directions, up. The direction changes depending on the tone of the breasts: if you are excited, the breasts rise, the nipples swell and protrude forward and slightly upward.
When the breasts swell before menstruation or in the first weeks of pregnancy, the nipples along with the areolas droop, while the mammary glands themselves increase (sometimes by 1-2 sizes). With age, the tone of the muscles that maintain volume and shape is lost, the breasts become flabby and sag. By the way, you won’t be able to pump up your chest with exercises; you can only strengthen the muscle frame and ligaments that hold the bust.
Where your nipples point can be adjusted in two ways. The first expensive and risky one is plastic surgery. The second is everyday and simpler: choose the right underwear so that your breasts look attractive in clothes, and accept the fact that every girl, girl, woman is individual and beautiful, regardless of the shape and size of the breast.
Size
Size ranges may vary between brands. As a rule, the following division works:
• for infants up to 2 months;
• from 0 to 6 months;
• from 6 months to 1-1.5 years.
Check the label for the recommended age before choosing a pacifier. A particular product is best suited precisely for those ages that the manufacturer has provided.
