Eli5: Why do areolas exist ? What is their purpose ?

Question

I understand the actual knob on a breast for a feeding purpose . Wouldn’t just that be enough ? Why the areola around it especially with a different shade of colour to the rest of the breast ?

In: Biology

Answer 1

Target – newborns have horrible vision. They can really only see maybe 12-18” in front of their face. Throughout pregnancy a woman’s areolas grow and darken so there’s more contrast and baby can find the nipple.