Black spots on nipples?

[superflippy]

My nipples and aureolae have darkened, as is typical during pregnancy. But I've also got these weird little black spots on the ends of my nipples. They look a little like scabs, but I can't imagine where those would have come from since ds stopped nursing 5 months ago.

Has anyone else experienced anything like this?

[ilovebabies]

I have them and they are from bfing damage. My last 2 babies had latch issues and for the the first couple of weeks while we were working through it, I had bleeding, scabbing nipples that caused permanent discoloration like that. Did you have this problem when you bf your little one? If so, that's probably what it's from. If not, then I don't know!

[funnygrace]

I think I had what you are describing and this is my first pregnancy. They look like clogged ducts that are dark at the ends. I put oil on my nipples and kind of scrubbed them all out yesterday. I don't know why I didn't do this sooner.

[barefootpoetry]

I've got these too. THey look like specks of dirt. They didn't show up until I was well into my pregnancy. I'm just guessing that they're bits of extra-dark skin to go along with the usual darkening of the areolas.

[claddaghmom]

Is it your bra staining them? I have a pair of black capris that always stain my leg pores. It makes it look as if I have black measles. Nasty thing is, you can squeeze the little pores, say on my knees, and black ink/fuzz will come out.

[desertpenguin]

how weird, i wondered if i was the only one haha. i figured out that at least for me, it is because i am leaking a very small amount of colostrum that gets stuck in the tiny crevices of my nipples. if they don't wash out when i'm bathing they get...well...dirty. when that happens i can usually pick them out with a clean fingernail.

[superflippy]

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one! My breasts are extremely sensitive right now, so I've been hesitant to mess with them.

ilovebabies, my ds did chew on me sometimes while he was teething, so this might be damage from that. On the other hand, just in case they are clogged ducts, I'm going to try dislodging the specks with oil and a soft brush.

[beautyful]

I had them with my first pregnancy. I could gently pull them off, but they'd come back. The IBCLC at the hospital had never seen anything like it. (I didn't have them with my second pregnancy, though.)

[delightedbutterfly]

My first I had hard yellow colostrum spots... this time too but I also had black dots everywhere... they wouldn't come off and my breasts looked diseased... once the little one came this time and started feeding they went away

[baby_baby_mommy]

Originally Posted by ilovebabies

I have them and they are from bfing damage. My last 2 babies had latch issues and for the the first couple of weeks while we were working through it, I had bleeding, scabbing nipples that caused permanent discoloration like that. Did you have this problem when you bf your little one? If so, that's probably what it's from. If not, then I don't know!

How did this effect bf-ing on the next baby? I'm pretty sure my darker nipple spots are a combo of dryness and damage from #1 (weaned during this pgnancy). A lactation consultant suggested nipple cream for me prenatally to help them heal before birth...but will that really help anything other than the dryness???

[heatherRN]

I had them after my first pg, while breastfeeding. I just happened to be going to see a dermatologist for something else and asked her to look at them. She said it was from hormones and not to be concerned. They went away gradually, and were totally gone by 6 months postpartum. I am almost 38 weeks pg and I still don't see them, so I suspect they do have something to do with Bfing.

[ccbaby]

Your breasts are leaking!! In mid to late pregnancy we start leaking colostrum that gets stuck in the grooves of nipples and dries. It will come out upon cleaning. Just remember that soap is very drying to your skin and you shouldn't use it on your nipples.