Medela PersonalFit Small 21 mm Breastshields, 2-pk

I wanted to share my experience to help others decide if they should try a smaller breast shield. I have very prominent nipples/areolae (i.e. my areola is not flat on the breast but protrudes along with the nipple). Despite reading all the websites out there on proper fit, I had a hard time trying to figure out which part of my nipple/areolae was supposed to be in the tunnel. I experienced a lot of pain and bruising with the standard 24mm shields. Two different lactation consultants told me to go up to 30mm. The 30mm incorporated my entire nipple/areola and was even getting some regular breast tissue while pumping. Although the 30mm didn't hurt as much, it definitely was not comfortable--the discomfort was to the point where I worried that I was damaging my areola tissue because it was swelling so much afterwards. I also wasn't getting as much milk as I did with the 24mm. After looking at a lot of pictures of normal breast anatomy, I figured out that my nipple was not the whole...Read more

Pumping can be mysterious when you first start. Medela pumps come with the standard 24mm flanges, but that size doesn't fit all. Oddly, there's no specific way to tell if that flange is too big (too small is easy to tell). You can pump in front of a lactation consultant for input on size. If there is a lot of space on the sides of the nipple when you begin pumping, if pumping pulls a good portion of the aerola into the flange, and if pumping hurts, then you probably need the smaller size. This 21 mm flange made pumping possible for me.

While using the pump with the size that was provided, I noticed A LOT of leaking while pumping. Once I switched to this size the milk seemed to have an easier time coming out and the leaking stopped. I'd certainly try using these if you are having those types of issues. These didn't cause any discomfort or cause pinching.