Hellobee Boards

I am a B cup pre-pregnancy, and I was just using the size the nurses handed me in the hospital, which was 24mm. The lactation consultant had me start using 27mm and I seemed to get a little more milk with that one.

I would recommend asking for the lactation consultant while in the hospital, and asking them to bring you the hospital grade pump while you're there. This way, the LC can show you how to use the parts, and they will give you the kit which will likely give you extra parts for your home kit. (Depending on the brands of the pumps.) Also, if your milk is slow to come in like mine was, you can pump regularly to try and get it going.

I used the standard one that same with the pump and after a few weeks of pumping, I noticed my nipples getting sore and milk didn't come out as much as when I first started. So I went to a local baby supply store and bought one size up (it as only around $6 for a pair) and it made a HUGE difference. So I would suggest just buying another size up to try.

Depending on the day I would change shield size so I'd say try a few sizes and if you have access to a lactation consultant, definitely get their opinion.

anecdotally most women seem to have to go up a size. the shield you should use depends on the size of your nipples and not your breast size.

I had been using the standard size for months with great success, until I suddenly noticed a decrease in my pumping outputs and sore nipples. After doing some research I determined my shields were actually too large and I needed to go DOWN a size (the smaller shields are not usually sold in stores, so the company sent me out a free pair, next day air). After a day or two my outputs were back to normal, so in my experience, shield size does matter.