Why do men have nipples, but they feed no baby?

Question

How come men don't give birth, yet they have nipples?

Answer 1

A father's nipple is perfectly suited to soothing a crying baby until it can be fed, according to a major report published for Fathers' Day (June 19) on fatherhood across five continents, which identifies the world's best dads.

FatherWorld, published by Fathers Direct, the UK national information centre on fatherhood, details a worldwide increase in active fathering. It names as “Best Dads in the World” the Aka Pygmies, a hunter-gatherer tribe from northern Congo, in central Africa. When the mother is not available, the father calms his baby by giving him a nipple to suck.

Aka Pygmy men do more infant care-giving than fathers in any other known society, finds the report. On average, they hold or are within arms' reach of their infants 47 per cent of the time. They beat Swedish dads, the number ones in the Western world, who average 45 per cent of parental childcare. In typical British families, dads now average a third of the parental childcare, according to latest research from the Equal Opportunities Commission. Worldwide, fathers are estimated in today's report to contribute between a quarter and a third as much time as women to direct childcare. However, FatherWorld, springing from a week-long summit at Oxford University of the world's academic experts on fatherhood, reports that, of 156 cultures studied, only 20 per cent promote men's close relationships with infants, and only 5 per cent with young children.

Aka fathers often take the child along when they go drinking palm wine. They may hold the baby close to their bodies for a couple of hours at a time, says the report which highlights findings by Barry Hewlett, an American anthropologist, who has studied the tribe for more than 20 years. The dads, rather than mums, are often the ones who settle the babies if they wake at night.

Sebastian Kraemer, child psychiatrist at London's Whittington Hospital, said: “It is possible that, in prehistoric societies, this was a normal way of fathering. We should not assume from 10,000 years of history that our prevailing model is the right one.”

Caroline Flint, former President of the Royal College of Midwives, said: “I have come across cases of dads doing this. It's not a case of the man saying to the baby, ‘Here you are, have my boobie,' but usually of the baby snuffling along the father's chest, finding the nipple and sucking. The men are usually very surprised, but the babies seem content. They love to snuggle up to their dads.”

Wayne Hemingway, designer and father of four, said: “I'm not sure I could be an Aka Pygmy dad. Placing nipper on the nipple could be a big challenge to the British male. Ray Mears should take a group of British dads and their babies out to the Congo for a couple of weeks to meet the Aka Pygmies and see what our dads can manage. But I am one dad who won't be trying it out.”

Michael Lamb, professor of psychology at Cambridge University and the world's leading academic expert on fatherhood, said: “Internationally, over the past 20 years, we have seen fathers who live with their children spending more time with them and doing more diverse activities not just in Britain but in every known society. However, we are also seeing another trend - increasing numbers of children who are fatherless for much of the time because of factors such as migrant labour, fragile relationships and divorce.”

Duncan Fisher, chief executive of Fathers Direct, said: “We are beginning to recognise that a revolution in paternal involvement with children is sweeping not just Britain but the world with huge potential benefits for families and for eradicating poverty and ill-health.”

In FatherWorld, Dr Patrice Engle, who leads the UN's fatherhood programmes, describes how UNICEF has recently created new projects in dozens of countries to support fatherhood because of the latest evidence about its impact on child poverty, breastfeeding and education. Dr Engle said: “Perhaps the largest set of resources - money, time, food and caring - that could be directed to children are those controlled by men in families.”

Answer 2

Its just part of our make up. For men it is part of their sexuality, some men climax much faster when you play with or suck their nipples. Nipples for men is like the kind of bottom each person has some are very very flat, like they were absent when god was sharing bottoms and some people have oh my goodness, just much too much. All that is part of our make-up (being) In some freaks of nature, some men do have more than nipples. They actually have breasts. Whatever the situation, they were not meant to feed. That is indeed a woman's job. Do you know that some women have penises too but that is another freak of nature. Finally , men have nipples because it is part of their decoration and nature is very smart too, because you can't tell the difference between a girl and a boy under seven who has the sam hear cut, no shirt and jeans on.

Answer 3

The nipples provide a focus point for the male chest. They direct the eye to the curve of the pectoral muscle.

Men and women are mammals (from the Latin mamma breast) a species that have breasts and feeds its young with milk. The human embryo has tissue that will evolve into breasts. Both male and female babies are born with nipples and ducts intact. It is the presence of genes that direct hormones to differentiate the breast tissue. The Y chromosome stimulates hormones such as testosterone to form male features.

Insufficient or defective testosterone, poor tissue responsiveness, or an unbalance of other hormones like Estrogen and Prolactin can cause female like breasts even in men (Gynecomastia). At birth, the small amount of the mother's estrogen in the baby can result in small breasts that usually resolve. There can be an inbalance of hormones during male puberty that can result in temporary breast growth, which for most resolves. There are many medical problems and drugs that can cause male breast growth.

The nipple is actually the central protrusion inside of the pigmented areola. There is a thin muscle just under the skin that when stimulated, tends to flatten the puffed male nipple areola. This muscle when stimulated in a breast feeding woman, projects the nipple for the baby. Nerves that innervate the nipple / areola can produce pleasure for both men and women.


basically because they wouldnt look normal without them

Answer 4

I believe that men use to be the pacifier for babies. Although, on the discovery channel, they tested men's nipples and found that if their nipples are stimulated enough just like women's, they will produce milk. EEEwww.

Answer 5

because nipples is created for milk and men have no milk inside and there is another answer i think that nipples is small for men so woman when they feed babies they insert their nipples till it reach the end of mouth .... i guess

Answer 6

ALL creatures start out female. It takes that specific male chromosome at the right develpomental stage to turn them into males. We lose the innie, but not the nipples.

Answer 7

It's because at first all feotuses are females until the y chromosone kicks in can't remember the time fram been a long time since i've done biology

Answer 8

Because while we were in mothers womb we didn't know what gender we will be, until 3-4 month, but then we all got pretty similar bodies.

Answer 9

fathers are the caring alternatives for child in the absence of the mother

Answer 10

because in the womb everyone when developing starts off as female