Nipple piercing and breastfeeding and Nipple Piercing FAQ

About Nipple piercing

There are a common question among women who consider nipple piercings is how it may affect breastfeeding. There is no evidence to suggest that proper nipple piercings can cause any complications with lactation. A letter in JAMA suggests improperly pierced nipples and scarring may result in blocked ducts.

What is Nipple Piercing FAQ

Nipple piercing and breastfeeding 

A common question among women who consider nipple piercings is how it may affect breastfeeding. There is no evidence to suggest that proper nipple piercings can cause any complications with lactation. A letter in JAMA suggests improperly pierced nipples and scarring may result in blocked ducts.

It is recommended that good care is taken to prevent infection by using a piercing professional and good body piercing aftercare. Frequent re-piercings can also damage the nipple and cause complications. It is also recommended that the piercing be healed before breastfeeding. Most body piercing professionals will refuse to pierce a pregnant woman for this reason and because piercing causes stress on the body that could potentially complicate a pregnancy.

Several complications have been noted involving breastfeeding with a piercing present, so it is recommended to remove nipple jewelry before nursing. Several complications resulting from nursing with nipple jewelry inserted can include poor latch, slurping, gagging, and milk leaking from the baby's mouth.

It can also be a potential choking hazard for the baby. As the baby sucks, the ends on a barbell (if worn) may come loose and could possibly lodge in the baby's throat (a captive bead ring, properly inserted, would lessen the risk of anything becoming loose, falling out, and lodging in the throat). The baby's gums and tongue as well as the soft and hard palate could be injured by the jewelry.

Whilst there are some arguments made against having a nipple piercing and breastfeeding, it is still stated by experts to be an okay practice:
"There is no evidence that pierced nipples will affect your ability to breastfeed. Your breasts will still produce adequate milk for your baby, and unless your body rejected the piercing right after you had it done, there is no reason to anticipate any additional problems with infection. It is unlikely that the holes that are left in your nipple will cause a problem. Each nipple has 15-20 tiny nipple pores that the milk comes out of, so even if some were damaged, there should be plenty left for nursing. Breast surgery often damages the milk ducts inside the breast, and this can definitely create problems. The situation with nipple piercing is very different." - Dr. Kendall-Tackett

Nipple Piercing FAQ


Here are a few frequently asked questions about nipple piercings.

Q: I've had my nipple pierced for about several months now, and there is
some secretion of a whitish-yellow fluid ( not pus ) still coming out of it. Is this normal? If it's not, what can I do to make it stop ?

A: The whitish-yellow fluid is lymph fluid from the skin with some dead body cells in it and this is a normal by-product of the healing process. At five months, your nipples have probably healed a lot, but probably still are NOT all the way healed on the inside. Just keep gently cleaning this stuff off, esp if it dries on the rings. If any of the "crust" gets pulled inside, it's kinda ouchy.

Q: I have one pierced nipple and one not, and now the pierced one seems a little bit bigger than the one that is not pierced. Should I be worried if something bad is happening? ...cause it doesn't hurt and it's not red or anything. If I take the piercing out in the future, will my nipple heal and shrink back down to normal?

A: Piercing, for many people, stimulates tissue development in the nipples, especially if you are a woman who has not nursed a baby. Some men have gone from having almost no nipple to having nipples like gumdrops. I saw that happen one with a friend of mine. This too is totally normal. However, this is a permanent body change. How your nipple and/or aureola thickens or changes from being pierced is how it will stay for the rest of your life.

Q: Is there any real difference to wearing a ring or a barbell in a nipple piercing? Or do people just do whatever?

A: In my experiences, I've found two things that govern how people choose their nipple jewelry: lifestyle and personal preference. In the end, everyone settles down with whatever style of jewelry fits them comfortably, does not snag or interfere with whatever their daily activities are, and which the wearer finds aesthetically pleasing.

The variety of body jewelry has really expanded in the last twenty years. There are a lot of metals available, and then things like niobium and titanium come in lots of anodized colors. End caps on barbells or beads in captive rings can then be made from precious stones, be metal with insets or fancy pieces that disguise that the ring opens at all.

How Are Nipples Pierced?

How Are Nipples Pierced?

For those who choose to have their nipples pierced, healing times run between three and six months for most men, and six to twelve months for most women. This is a major piercing, considered a deep tissue wound technically. The piercing heals from the outer edges back towards the center and can often take a long time to become comfortably established. Women experience longer healing times as their piercings are often through more body tissue and their breast tissue changes with hormonal fluctuations.

Nipple Piercing Prep:
Set-up, Marking and Clamping

This series of pictures was taken on November 2, 2002 while my friend George got his nipples pierced at Body Manipulations in San Francisco. The piercer is Joey and she is an expert at what she does. The whole piercing process was over in less than half and hour and was utterly bloodless. I held George's hand with one hand and took pics with the other. He didn't squeeze my hand hardly at all, even though he thought he had.

How Are Nipples Pierced?

Nipple piercing is a fairly straightforward and easy body modification procedure. No anesthetics are used, as their use is regulated and restricted to doctors, so it would actually be illegal for body piercers to use them. The piercing itself takes only a few seconds.

First the nipple area is cleaned and marked so that entry and exit holes for the ring are located and lined up properly. The piercings are most often set at the base of the nipple, where it joins the aureola.

Next a medical clamp called a Pennington forcep is applied to the nipple, holding the tissue firmly and lining up the two dots for the holes as closely together as possible.

Then holding a cork on one side to catch the needle, the piercer quickly does the actual piercing with a slant-tip hollow needle. Nipple piercings needs to be at least 14g in thickness to prevent tissue tearing.


The clamp is removed and the needle is almost all the way through the piercing. Then the ring is butted up against the end of the needle and is used to push the needle out, allowing the ring to slide smoothly into place.

The captured bead ring is then in place and is ready to have a bead inserted between the two end and be pinched closed.


Nipple Piercing Procedure: Piercing, Ring Insertion and Ring Closure

Well, this is about as close to a live nipple piercing as you can get in photographs.

Far Left: With the nipple marked and clamped, Joey lines up the 14ga needle. Depending on the experience level of the piercer and the thickness of the tissue, piercer sometimes push the needle into a cork to catch the sharp end.

Second from Left: Joeys slides the needle through George's nipple, and lines up the ring. Since the ring is the same thickness as the needle, when she slides it into place, there is little or no blood.

Second from Right: The 14ga captured bead ring in place, and realigned correctly. The jewelry is still open.

Far Right: The hematite bead is no set into place in the ring ends, and the jewelry is now officially closed.

Ring ready to be closed with a bead

Nipple Piercings (Rings and Things)

Nipple Piercings (Rings and Things)

If there's one thing that the recent US Transportation Safety Administration/passenger conflict in Texas showed, it's that even 20 years after nipple piercing started to move into the mainstream, many people still don't know anything about them. In fact, the most the average person knows about nipple piercings is probably just a vague memory of something sparkling on Janet Jackson's breast during her unfortunate "wardrobe malfunction" during the Super Bowl a few years back. These are not a casual body modification, like having ears pierced. Pierced nipples take months to heal and removing the jewelry often requires the use of specialized pliers made for opening and closing the thick rings.


This hub describes the process of how nipples get pierced and answers some frequently asked questions about nipple piercings. There's also some discussion about flying, being scanned or put through a metal detector and piercings. If you have more questions, you can ask them in the comment capsule at the bottom of the hub.

Nipple piercing and sexuality

Nipple piercing and sexuality



Sexual arousal created by nipple and areola stimulation is reported to be enhanced by piercing of the nipple. Most women claim an increase in sensitivity and arousal after having their nipples pierced. As a result of a surge of information exposing the sexual enhancement aspect of a pierced nipple, there has been a reported increase of men and women requesting this procedure.


"For a long time I could not understand why I should consent to such a painful operation without sufficient reason. I soon, however came to the conclusion that many ladies are ready to bear the passing pain for the sake of love. I found that the breasts of those who wore rings were incomparably rounder and fuller developed than those who did not. My doubts were now at an end...so I had my nipples pierced, and when the wounds were healed, I had rings inserted...with regard to the experience of wearing these rings, I can only say that they are not in the least uncomfortable or painful. On the contrary, the slight rubbing and slipping of the rings causes in me an extremely titillating feeling, and all my colleagues I have spoken to on this subject have confirmed my opinion." London socialite writing in Vogue 1890.

Nipple piercing

Nipple piercing

Nipple:    piercing

Location: Nipple

Jewelry:  Barbell, captive bead ring

Healing:    2 to 4 months

A nipple piercing is a piercing, centered usually at the base of the nipple. Nipple piercing can be pierced at any angle but is usually done horizontally or, less often, vertically. Nipple piercing is also possible to place multiple piercings on top of one another. A nipple piercing typically takes 2-4 months to fully heal. Some people have noted that they can take up to a year and a half to fully heal. Nipple piercing's recommended that if stretching a nipple piercing, the piercee waits at least the healing time of their piercings between stretches.
For those who choose to have their nipples pierced, healing times run between three and six months for most men, and six to twelve months for most women. This is a major piercing, considered a deep tissue wound technically. The piercing heals from the outer edges back towards the center and can often take a long time to become comfortably established. Women experience longer healing times as their piercings are often through more body tissue and their breast tissue changes with hormonal fluctuations.

Once the piercings are healed, their are many jewelry choices available for nipple piercings. Barbells can be straight or curved with many decorative end balls. Bead rings can be fixed or captured, again with many bead options and dangles available. All nipple jewelry should be at least 14 gauge thick to avoid slicing into the tissues. Breast tis êsue responds well to slow stretching and nipple jewelry gauge can easily be increased by enlarging with professional tapered stretching. Consult a professional piercer for recommendations for increasing jewelry diameter and thickness.

Nipple piercings are through erectile tissue. They get better blood supply than a navel piercing but are subject to more body movement and rubbing with clothing than an ear piercing. Nipple piercings can initially be tender for a few days or a few weeks depending on the individual. Increasing redness, swelling and tenderness usually signal some form of infection. Don’t be afraid to contact your piercer if you think you are having a healing issue.

New jewelry should be surgical stainless steel or 14k or 18k gold. See what your piercer recommends as far as starting diameter. You cannot wear sterling silver in nipple piercings, and it is recommend to save niobiu êm and titanium for established piercings. For washing, use a natural soap without dyes, perfumes or heavy anti-bacterials. These can all irritate the new piercing, as can over-cleaning the piercing. Some people find that soaking the fresh piercing with hot salt water is suitable. Clean any dried lymph fluids from the edges of the healing piercings for comfort.

Piercings heal from the outside in, so what your nipples are doing is growing a tunnel from the two sides of the nipple to surround the new jewelry. The surfaces can look healed whereas the inside areas might not be healed totally together, so don’t rush to change into new jewelry for the first year. You will also want to avoid hot tubs or pools as the chemicals in the water can irritate and inflame healing piercings. Use laundry products without dyes or scent additives while the nipple piercings are still healing to avoid reactions.

Men's Pierced Nipples

Here is a picture of a freshly pierced male nipple. It's about a minute old here, this picture having been taken on Nov. 2, 2002 when he got both his nipples pierced. Like all newly pierced rings, this one exhibits the tendency to stick straight out instead of laying down along the body. They do lower as they heal.

You can see actual step-by-step nipple piercing.

There are two parts:

Nipple Piercing Prep: Set-up, Marking and Clamping

Nipple Piercing Procedure: Piercing, Ring Insertion and Ring Closure