Chapter 1: Discovering the Third Nipple

When my mother nonchalantly pointed out that what I believed to be a birthmark beneath my left breast was, in fact, an additional nipple, I was taken aback.

This revelation hit me hard, as I was already grappling with various teenage insecurities. I wasn't the kind of girl reading Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret? and wishing for a faster pace of change. Instead, I was one of three girls in my fifth-grade class who needed a bra, with my first period arriving a week before Valentine’s Day. It was a delightful time.

In those early days of development, my primary concerns revolved around aesthetics—how my breasts appeared in a bra, how they looked in the mirror, and how they might someday be perceived by someone else should I ever gather the courage to reveal them.

I later recognized that no one would have noticed the small discolored dot, no larger than a thumbtack, with a pinprick at its center. I certainly wasn’t like the 19th-century French woman rumored to have an extra breast on her thigh, as reported by the BBC, nor the 74-year-old man with a female breast on his leg.

In time, I learned the scientific terms related to this condition: polymastia refers to having one extra nipple, while polythelia pertains to having more than one. Strikingly, some individuals possess up to eight extra nipples, often without realizing it, though some may need surgical intervention for removal.

Estimates suggest that approximately 1 in 200,000 Americans has a supernumerary nipple, making it a rare phenomenon, as classified by the National Institute of Health’s Office of Rare Diseases.

At least I’m in good company; according to the BBC, celebrities like Mark Wahlberg, Tilda Swinton, Lily Allen, and Bill Paxton also belong to the “triple (or more) nipple club.”

Perhaps if I’d known I shared this trait with Marky Mark back in the day, I wouldn’t have felt so out of place. However, I felt like an anomaly at the time. Thankfully, a little Cover Girl concealer helped me move forward, and eventually, I put the thought aside.

As a new mother two decades later, my perspective shifted. I no longer cared how my breasts appeared; what mattered was their functionality. My goal was to breastfeed my first child, but it proved challenging. After a stay in the NICU, he preferred the convenience of formula from a bottle. When we reunited, he would latch on but struggled to extract anything from me.

Initially undeterred, I attended breastfeeding classes and discovered that even adoptive mothers could stimulate milk production. I rented an industrial-grade pump and roamed my house with it attached, feeling little embarrassment.

Contrary to my teenage self, I embraced the experience. A 19th-century French mother had successfully nursed five children with her three breasts; I was struggling with just one. By the time I returned to work, we were primarily using formula. There’s no shame in that—I was raised on a bottle and turned out just fine.

But didn’t I have breasts for a specific purpose now? Why weren’t they cooperating? Perhaps more functional nipples would have been advantageous.

A 1999 New York Times article titled "Of Breasts, Behavior and the Size of Litters" delves into why most mammals, including humans, typically have two nipples. Esteemed thinkers like Aristotle and Alexander Graham Bell have pondered this question. The "one-half rule" they proposed states that the number of nipples usually corresponds to half the maximum litter size, preventing competition for nutrients among offspring.

However, not all mammals are so fortunate. Dr. John Eisenberg, a preeminent expert on mammals, noted that opossum mothers often lack enough nipples for their young—a true survival of the fittest scenario. Pigs, on the other hand, engage in fierce competition for access to the most nutrient-rich mammaries, hence the phrase "sucking the hind teat."

Some mammals have dedicated nipples, but their young must navigate to find them. Dr. Eisenberg remarked that baby kangaroos must locate the teat themselves, or face dire consequences.

One of my favorite mammalian stories features the mole rat, which has multiple mammaries and numerous offspring. In these colonies, only one female reproduces, while the others care for her and her young, who can share the ample milk produced without fear of scarcity.

Who knew I would find myself envious of a mole rat?

With my second child, I had the luxury of not returning to work, and I rented that industrial-grade pump once more. Once my baby caught on, it was as if I had transformed into a fountain of milk. Though it may have been excessive, I took pride in my two glands fulfilling their biological role.

Interestingly, my left breast became the star performer, while my extra nipple remained below it. Coincidence? I think not. At least it didn’t start leaking, which can happen—a bridge too far, even for me.

Now, as I approach the end of my reproductive journey, I find myself once again concerned about appearance. I care about how my breasts look in a bra and in the mirror. I keep up with my annual mammograms, hoping to retain them.

I ponder what evolution has in store for those of us with a little extra. Perhaps it’s a sign that we’re just a bit more unique. The BBC noted that the Greeks depicted the goddess Artemis with more than two breasts, while in Phoenicia, extra nipples symbolized fertility—a belief that persisted until the 1800s.

In The Descent of Man, Charles Darwin speculated that extra nipples or breasts might be atavisms, relics of our biological ancestry. Hopefully, it’s not a sign of things to come; one at a time is ample for most human parents.

I hardly notice my unique birthmark anymore, except as a quirky topic for conversation at dinner parties—should the subject of breasts arise, which has yet to happen. But if it did, I wouldn’t hesitate to proclaim my membership in the "Funky Bunch."

After all, what’s a little extra nipple or two?

Betsy Denson, 2022

Chapter 2: Understanding the Science Behind Extra Nipples

This video explores the phenomenon of extra nipples and some of the embarrassing illnesses associated with it, shedding light on this rare condition.

In this video, we delve into the reasons some individuals have extra nipples, presenting scientific perspectives and anecdotal evidence to demystify the topic.