# light nipples vs. dark nipples



## Magali (Jun 8, 2007)

A nurse told me right after ds was born that because I had really dark nipples (they got really dark during pregnancy), that I wasn't going to have any trouble breastfeeding...that women with light nipples had more pain/problems etc...

Is this in any way true? I actually had no pain breastfeeding. My sister who is very fair skinned had pain so bad that she would cry while breastfeeding (but she got through it and breastfed her dd for about 2 years







).

Just curious.


----------



## mamadelbosque (Feb 6, 2007)

I'm hispanic, but have light nipples and had no problems whatso ever bfing







I never even leaked past 1 or 2 weeks!!


----------



## shanti1 (Jun 30, 2006)

I have no idea........but it sounds like a pretty silly indicator. FWIW I have very light nipples that get very dark during pregnancy and for the few weeks following birth........then lighten up again.

Odd observation.


----------



## GooeyRN (Apr 24, 2006)

I have heard those with very light skin and or red hair have a lot of pain. I have fair skin and do have pain, but I also have raynauds. Interesting question, but I would not let it deter me.


----------



## durafemina (Feb 11, 2004)

dark nipples, 7 weeks of pain


----------



## Magali (Jun 8, 2007)

Hmmm...seems like one of those things that could be true in some cases, but not as a rule.


----------



## Twinklefae (Dec 13, 2006)

Red haired-ish, and prepregnancy my nipples were so fair you couldn't see them without squinting. No problems at all. I do get vasospasms, but only in the cold, so I haven't had one in a few months.


----------



## Miranda2r14 (Jan 20, 2008)

Casper the Ghost here, only uncomfortable the first couple weeks, never any real pain.


----------



## Llyra (Jan 16, 2005)

I can't see what difference it could possibly make. It's not logical. The color of your nipples is the result of how much pigment is in your skin. Why would less pigment mean that you'd have sore nipples? Is the idea that a light-skinned woman will have more sensitive skin? I don't buy it.

My nips are medium in color, I think. I had terrible pain with DD1, but that's because she was tongue-tied and nipple-confused and had some oral motor issues. With the twins, I had no pain at all.


----------



## california_mom (Sep 30, 2007)

I have no idea if mine are light vs dark. Do women compare nipple color (like men compare size














? I guess nurses would have a better idea about color because they see so many breasts. Mine, I would imagine, are medium to dark, and excruciating pain here (like 9+) for weeks and weeks!


----------



## yamilee21 (Nov 1, 2004)

Hmm... I thought everyone's nipples changed colours with pregnancy and nursing; maybe it just happens to some. With my pregnancy with my son, my nipples became very dark around 7 months, when I started having colostrum. They stayed dark throughout the newborn stage and then gradually became lighter throughout the rest of my son's first two years, eventually becoming lighter than they had ever been in my life. They were still light when I got pregnant, and became dark once more when my colostrum came in. I had assumed the darkening had to do with making them contrast more with the rest of the breast so that it is easier for a newborn to latch on, but maybe that is just a crazy idea.


----------



## 70toes (May 20, 2008)

I've heard this too, but I don't think it's right. I'm fair and have very little pain, my sister is dark and has a LOT of pain.


----------



## becoming (Apr 11, 2003)

I have medium-colored nipples and had SEVERE nipple pain the first couple of weeks. I think it has more to do with latch than nipple color.


----------

