Breast Pump Sizes

Q: I am using the Medela Mini Electric Breast Pump and I have some aerola coming into the tunnel of the shield which left the base area of the nipple feeling sort of tingly and numb to touch.
It sounds like the breastshield is too small for you, there should only be a very minimial amount (if any) aerola being drawn into the tunnel.

It should just be the nipple that is drawn into the tunnel and extends as the suction is turned on.

The aerola should just be at the base, and not going into the tunnel. And you shouldn’t have the
numb tingly feeling either.

It is possible to buy a small size breast shield, this is 21mm rather than the 24mm tunnel that comes with the standard medela breast pump.

Q: I really don’t think I have small nipples, and I also have reasonable sized breasts - does that make any difference to the size of shield required?

The breast shield is the hardest ever thing to know the correct size. It is not really related to breast size, as some women have large breasts but still only small nipples. It really just depends on how your nipple is drawn into the tunnel - something that you wont know until you try it.

View our full list of spare parts, or contact us if you would like any help with your breast pump or spare parts.

http://www.breastmates.co.nz/medela_spare_parts.html