Do you have pain with pumping? The issue might be your breast shields. Here’s an overview of what can cause pumping discomfort, and how to find the most comfortable breast pump flanges for you.
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What are breast shields?
Breast shields are the pump part that you place directly on your breasts. They are sometimes also called flanges or “horns.”
Generally, they are shaped a bit like a funnel to cover the areola, with a tunnel where suction is applied to the nipple.
Why might breast pump flanges be uncomfortable?
There are a few reasons that breast shields might cause pain or damage while you’re pumping.
1. Size
This is the most common issue. Many breast pumps only come with one size breast shield in the box, but that may not be the right size for you.
Incorrectly sized breast shields can cause problems if they are either too large or too small.
- If a breast shield is too large, too much of the areola is pulled into the tunnel, which can bruise that tissue and cause inflammation and pain.
- If a breast shield is too small, the nipple can’t move freely, and the added friction causes discomfort.
Here are some tips for how to measure your nipple to see if you have the correct size.
2. Shape
Most breast shields have a hard ring going from the funnel into the nipple tunnel.
While this ring is fine for most pumping moms, some women find that a more gradual taper is more comfortable for them.
3. Material
Many breast shields are made of hard plastic. However, there are some alternatives now that are made out of silicone. These can be more flexible and may feel more comfortable for some women.
Additionally, women with elastic nipples (nipples that stretch far into the breast shield tunnel, sometimes touching the connector) often find silicone breast shields work much better for them than standard plastic flanges.
What are the most comfortable breast pump flanges for moms having pain?
If you find that you’re having pain with pumping, one of the issues may be size.
Measure your nipple and see if you are using the correct size. If you aren’t, you can try getting the same breast shields that you’re using, but in the correct size.
However, if you can’t seem to find a size that fits you (or you’d just rather try other options), here are some breast pump flanges that many women find more comfortable than traditional breast shields.
1. Pumpin Pals
Pumpin Pals are designed with a gradual taper from the breast shield funnel into the nipple tunnel. Many women prefer this shape to other flanges, and the silicone option is highly recommended for women with elastic nipples.
Pumpin Pals are easiest to use when your breast pump parts have a separate flange and connector (like Medela’s breast pump parts).
If you have a Spectra or another breast pump with a combined flange/connector, you can get an adapter use Pumpin Pals or you can hack your pump to use Medela breast pump parts.
Because it’s not uncommon for the size you need to change, Pumpin Pals sends you three different sizes at once.
More on Pumpin Pals here. If you decide to try them, you can use EPUMP to get 5% off.
2. LacTeck BabyMotion Flanges
The LacTeck BabyMotion Flange is another great option if traditionally shaped flanges don’t feel comfortable to pump with.
They are made of silicone, and are soft and non-abrasive.
This flange is designed to mimic nursing, so it’s an especially good choice for nursing moms whose supply is fine when feeding their baby directly, but who struggle with pumping output.
You can use the code EPUMP10 for 10% off LacTeck BabyMotion flanges.
3. Beaugen Cushions (Flange Inserts)
Another option is to use Beaugen Cushions with your current flanges.
Beaugen cushions are silicone inserts that you can put in almost any breast shield (Pumpin Pals are the only ones I know of that are not compatible, though there might be others), and many women – again, especially those who have elastic nipples – find the silicone cushion very helpful.
Much more on Beaugen inserts here.
Hands-Free Pumping Bras
Note that Beaugen cushions will reduce the size of your breast shields by about 2mm.
This can be helpful if you are between sizes; however, if you are using a size that works for you now, it’s possible that you would need to go up a breast shield size to use them.
You can see more of these breast shields in this story:
Hopefully this gives you a good overview of the most comfortable breast pump flanges! Have you used any of these? Leave your review in the comments!
Comments & Chitchat
Have you tried the Limerick pump? I just found it on another blog and it claims it works for any nipple size and shape,and speeds up output. They have a manual version and an electronic version, both more expensive than other pumps and the flanges are not compatible with other pumps either, but if it does what it says it does it could be worth it.
So lackteck flanges run big?
If I am looking for a 21-22 mm fit. Should I get the 21mm flange or the 18mm?
Do you know of any plain silicone flanges? The pumpin pals inverted my nipples and after 3 months of using the baby motion flanges I’m bruising where the motion part sucks up to the nipple. I’ve also had issues with the medela personal fit not fitting right – big boobs and small, elastic nipples (I’m 18mm) make finding a proper fitting flange seemingly impossible. Thank you!!!
Sabrina, I am in the same boat as you! Pumpin’ Pals did not work at all for me! I am using the 18mm lacteck flanges but it’s been a few months since I bought them, and then a few weeks ago my nipples and all around them were bruised! The 21mm lacteck are way too big for me. I turned down the suction on my pump and the bruising got better with the 18mm lacteck flanges.
I also tried the BeauGen cushions but bc the 18mm is the smallest Lacteck they fit a little too small and are way too expensive to be a hassle to insert/align.
I am 7 months into pumping and ready to give up. I had to start supplementing with formula this month bc I don’t think I was effectively pumping and my period returned and supply dropped.
Please keep me posted if you find anything that helps and I will do the same for you. Breastfeeding and pumping weren’t “supposed to be” this hard and then add in big boobs and elastic tissue is just not fair! ♥️ Sending you tons of support!
@Kimberly – it seems there is not a way to reply to a reply so we’ll try it this way 🙂
Thank you for your support! I so feel for you! My baby was born the 1st week of May and the 1st week of July I had my first postpartum period. At that time I had been pumping for 2 months and barely getting any – about 12oz per day. Luckily I was able to figure out that my doctor and lactation consultants were giving me very poor pumping guidance – they also missed my baby’s tongue tie which caused heartache and frustration for me, baby, and my husband, thus landing me in the epumping boat – but anyway. Below is my recipe for pumping. I get 26oz – 30oz a day now, I wish I could get more, so I could build a stash AND get a full day supply, but I haven’t had to supplement with formula for 2 months now, so breaking even I count as a victory. BTW – this has held the periods at bay, July has been my only one pp so far.
– Symphony Pump (pump in style works as well, but I have to turn the suction WAY up to get enough pull to express milk. I blame the big boobs and bad flange cup fit for this)
– Pump every 3 – 4 hours (including at night) as soon as I finish I set a timer for 3 hours
– Pump for a min of 15 min. 22 – 23 is my magic number – I get 3 let downs this way, but the third is always just a tiny bit more.
– Baby Motion flange (it seems that the silicone is most beneficial part of this flange – the hard plastic caused me to clog REALLY bad)
– Oat milk every day (at least 1 cup) – I guess my body doesn’t digest/utilize it very well as just eating oats / oatmeal didn’t work for me and no other supplement would either. I have to make my oatmeal really soupy or drink oat milk or eat oat milk ice cream (So Delicious Carmel Apple is my fav ^_^)
Have tried medal comfort and they were better than the standard. Pumpin pals are amazing!! I’ve been after some of these since 2014 and have Just managed to source them from hipbaby (England, UK), currently using with great success when my nearly 2 year old’dad has him overnight. Before I was getting mastitis and blocked ducts constantly, it was awful. I have very elastic, teeny tiny nipples and seem to have acquired damaged milk ducts/ milk duct dysmorphia along my breastfeeding journey. This is my third child, my first child never nursed unless with a nipples shield and we discovered that too late. Managed to exclusively pump for 1 month and moved to full formula over the next two weeks. My last two babies had posterior younger tie cut (had to argue for the 3rd, very glad I did!) Anyway love to all the mummy’s reading this 🙂
The LacTeck Baby Motion Flange are some comfortable! I’m fact, the 18mm size is the only thing that helped with my elastic nipples. They no longer extend to the end of the tunnel, they hardly swell, and I get a lot more milk! Thank you for posting about these as I had not come across them in a lot of my research on elastic nipples. Pumpin Pals were recommended a ton, but did not help for me due to my breast shape and size, so seeing your info here and using your coupon code literally changed pumping for me! 🙏🏻
So glad to hear that, Kimberly!