Having inverted nipples never did bother me before I became pregnant because there were some advantages to it. For instance, you never have to worry about them protruding when the weather's cold & you are wearing a thin bra. Heck, you can even get away without wearing one!

When i decided on breastfeeding early in my pregnancy, I scoured the Internet & raided the library for information on the topic. I learned that having "minus" nipples is rather bad news. I began to worry. Then one day, I chanced upon "breast shells" from a well-known breastcare brand. Well, basically the shells are meant to be placed over your nipples to "encourage" them to protrude hence making latching easier during breastfeeding. I made a mental note to purchase them closer to my due date. They became no. 2 on my "must-buy" pre-birth shopping list, no. 1 being the breast pumps of course!

In my 37th week of pregnancy, I bought the breast shells. I remember this like it was yesterday. It was a monday night & since the husband's out for a well-deserved guys' nite out, I decided to fiddle around with the breast shells. The instructions leaflet recommends the user (me!) to practise wearing the shells during pregnancy to draw out the nipples to increase elasticity & prime them for breastfeeding later. So I did and felt like Xena, the Warrior Princess, heh. I decided to wear them under my bra and went to bed.

The next morning, I removed the shells and hey presto, inverted nipples no more! I set the breast shells aside and felt rather pleased with myself. To cut the story short, my contractions started later in the afternoon & I gave birth on Wednesday morning, a minute to 11am. During labour, it suddenly occured to me that my "breast exercise" could have brought on the contractions early! I remember my girlfriend warning me not to over-stimulate my nipples as it could induce labour. I also remember myself going "Bah! Why would i want to be fondling my nipples?".

Thankfully, it was a rather smooth labour & delivery & most importantly the baby arrived safely.

The breast shells really turned out to be a huge help for me during the 4 months I managed to breastfeed my baby. I was so ridiculously happy when I brought her back for her then check-ups & jabs to hear the doctor going "Hmmm, this must be a breastfed baby! See how much she's grown from being a mere 2.75kg at birth!". So for those flatties & inverts like me, fret not, there is hope for us! But do be careful when first trying out them breast shells though!

Written 4 August 2006 (from WBW2006 blog)

 © BMSG (Singapore)