In plain words
The areola is the darker ring of skin around the nipple. It often grows darker and wider during pregnancy. Small bumps on the areola, called Montgomery glands, make oil that keeps the skin soft. During feeding, the baby takes in part of the areola along with the nipple. A deep latch means more of the areola is in the mouth, not just the tip of the nipple. Areola size alone does not decide how well feeding goes. Pain, cracking, or redness of the areola or nipple is worth reporting to a or a provider.
The deeper version
The areola is pigmented skin surrounding the nipple. It contains Montgomery tubercles (sebaceous glands), smooth muscle fibers, and the lactiferous sinuses that act as milk reservoirs beneath the nipple. Areolar tissue distends during pregnancy and lactation. Effective depends on the baby drawing a volume of areola into the mouth, which is the basis of deep . The areola is compressed between the tongue and palate during milk expression. Clinical latch assessment often uses the proportion of areola visible above and below the mouth. The controversy concerns the value of routine nipple and areola assessment as a predictor of feeding success, which observational studies support only weakly.
Where it comes up
What mothers here say about areola
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Sources
- La Leche League International — The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, anatomy and latch chapters