Breast Shield Size - Do You Need a Small 15 mm or 19 mm Breast Flange?

Recently, we have been researching the effectiveness of small breast flanges for moms who are trying aftermarket brands in 15mm.  Most manufacturer's do not offer flanges that small.  This mom in particular was having difficulty because even a 15mm was too large.  A smaller flange can often be too large if too much of the areola is being pulled in and the milk sinuses are not being compressed properly at the breast shield.
This problem can ofte be solved with a silicone insert or silicone breast shield.  So where a 15mm plastic flange may be too large, a 15-19 mm silicone breast shield such as the x-small and small super shields by Pumpin' Pal will work very well.  The reason is the material.  Silicone helps hold the breast tissue in place whereas the hard plastic flange will allo the tissue to be draw in too far.
If you have tried a silicone shield, and still need to the areola to be held in place more efficiently, rolling the silicone so that it suctions to the breast is often the answer.  See the image below which is from Pumpin' Pal's 2018 Quick Start Instruction Guide.

Not only are the SuperShields angled for a more comfortable pumping position, they are available in x-small 15-19 mm breast shields and small 20-23 mm breast shields in silicone for better adhesion to your breast.

These are now also available for use with popular Spectra breast pump when using the Spectra flange adapter.

Here is to better pumping!

Tanya