Is there a correlation between cup-size and ability to express?

[Miaou]

A discussion I have been having this evening

I am nork-challenged (36B when feeding, 36A the rest of the time) and was crap at expressing. Tried it over a long period of time, only ever managed 2oz at the most (and that took about half an hour with an electric pump!)

However I happen to know of someone who is much more bosomy and can express loads, quickly

Do tell ...

nah. i got v big breasts. e cup pre preg - and i had no luck with it at all

LOL Miaou - I think you might be referring to me

34G and can express enough for many babies.

[jug envy]

I have medium sized ones. No idea of actual size atm tbh. I produce various amounts of milk at varying speeds.

As I understand it, its supposed to not make a difference because its based on demand and supply ie how much expressing is done or b/feeding as to how much you produce.

Hunker makes HUGE demands on her norks.....

I do.

I do lots of things With My Breasts

Maybe more to do with the amount they grow by once baby born? I exploded from A cup to D cup when i had dd and managed to express, i'd say an average amount of milk.

I think Tiktok will be along in a minute with the science bit

C cup before, D cup during, and my expressability is about the same as Miaou's

34F - oodles of the stuff... if I can be arsed.

I'm a C/D cup and could never express, my personal theory was that my boobs were too big to fit into the cup on the pump and it didn't get a proper 'grip' iyswim. That's my theory blown out of the water then!

I was a 34 A pre preg and am now a c, but can express 6/7Ozs in 15/20 mins whilst feeding dd on the other one; not sure how I'd be without the electric pump. I think it might have more to with shape and nipple size, rather than cup.

Nah.
Have generous norks and expressing was always hard work.
Would have loved to donate too.

Never leaked a drop in 31/2 years of b/feeding.

34J at their biggest, and I have real trouble expressing the smallest amounts.........probably because greedy guts drinks it all (including any spare!!!!)

Good question! I have A cup, and I could express 8 oz in minutes, if breasts were full and only from 3 months onwards. Before that, ziltch.

Prof Yaffle says that in her case, her boobs were too big to fit into the cup on the pump and it didn't get a proper 'grip'. In my case, with the first pump I had (Avent Isis)my boobs were too small to fill in the cup!! It said in the instruction 'make sure the cup covers the nipple area', but for me my whole boob would fit in, and the cup was too big to create proper suction.

So I bought the Tommee Tippee pump with flexible cup, and it fitted really well and I could express without any probs. Inf act, I ended up producing so much that I'd have to express a bit before each feed so that my nipples would stick out enough for DS to latch on! It's all a question of supply and demand, and I think it has little to do with cup size...

Oh yea and I have quite a few embarrasing leakage stories, including a wet t shirt whilst at the supermarket. If I didn't wear pads during the night, my bra would get copletely soaked...

blueberry, respect

Miaou, I am the same dimensions as you and can also barely get 2 oz at a go, even using hospital industrial electric pumps, good suction and all.

So there I am in the hospital bf-express room struggling for 15 min to cover the base of the container when this lady (erm, more but not spectacularly well endowed) comes in and starts filling bottle after bottle.

Sheesh, talk about feeling inadequate ...

34A pre baby 36C now. have expressed gallons of the stuff. both involuntarily and voluntarily so is nothing to do with size. think it is to do with how strongly and frequently your baby sucks. mine is a barracuda

34B feeding and not (well that's what the maternity bras said anyway). I became Niagra Falls in the leaking department - breast pads were absolutely useless - but the opposite in the expressing. I reckon it was because when trying to express my brain kept saying - no, no, no, I'm not a cow.... and just refused to co-operate.

Not sure about the sucking thing, megusta - I have had three barracudas but still no success with expressing

Would be interested to know if there is a physiological reason (tiktok?)

I have to admit I was quite proud of my little boobiies. I've had over the years to endure the odd comment about how flat chested I am, so it was a bit of a boost in confidence that I 'produced' well! I had a few sceptical better endowed girlfiends (you know the ones without kids) who would question, during my pregnancy, if I'd manage to BF or not because of my little 'dried plums'. I'm actually smaller than an A, the A cup from M&S is too small for me!!!

(me too Blueberry )

me too Poppynic, I could collect 4oz drip milk per feed but could not express a drop.