Flange Size Matters

You may be reading this and wondering, what is a flange?

A flange is the funneled part of your breast pump that comes into contact with your breast and surrounds the nipple. It creates the seal around your areola and nipple to stimulate nipples and promote milk removal. The flange creates a vacuum seal around the areola and the nipple.

Flanges come in variety of sizes ranging from 13mm to 36mm or larger. That is a huge range because everyone’s nipple size and shape are different, even your nipples can vary in size from your left to right.

Why do you need the right size flange?

-having the correct size could increase your milk output to up to 20%

An incorrect flange size could cause:

-cause pain or skin breakdown, including redness, irritation, broken skin

-Ineffective emptying and can lead to clogged milk ducts

-you to pump long periods of time and produce less than an ounce

When in doubt please measure and make sure you are using the correct size flange.

An IBCLC can help measure you and determine your flange size and assess the diameter, length, and elasticity of your nipple.