Dr. Gwenn Schurgin O'Keeffe, MD, FAAP

Dear Dr. Gwenn,

My 6 year old daughter was born with an extra nipple. It is below her left nipple by a couple of inches and is only recognizable as a nipple upon close inspection. Our pediatrician identified it when I asked about it during a well-baby visit when she was about 6 months old. In the future, will this area need mammograms? I've never told her what it is, just that it's been there since birth.

Signed,
Karen

Dear Karen:

Your daughter has an accessory, or supernumerary, nipple. When we are developing in utero, the nipples are actually made in a line. Most disappear and the 2 we all have remain but every once in a while a few extra hang on. If you think about it, other animals have multiple nipples but we've evolved to need only 2 to feed our kids!

These nipple are really just skip tags and are not associated with breast tissue or development so you won't need to worry about mammograms or problems in the future. Here are some links for more info:

Supernumerary nipples
University of MD - Supernumerary nipples

Best,
Dr. Gwenn

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About the Author
Pediatrician, Dr. Gwenn Schurgin O'Keeffe, MD, is a board-certified pediatrician and Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Dr. Gwenn is an experienced columnist, educator, and practicing pediatrician. Dr. Gwenn strives to write as if she were talking to a parent. As a parent herself, she knows how important it is to obtain information but also understand how precious little time parents have to find that information on the internet. Pediatrics Now was developed to fill that gap and provide a bridge between the parenting and pediatrics worlds.

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