The short answer to this is ‘no’, but we’re sure you’ve come here for a more detailed look at why!

Breast size and supply

Let’s look first at breast size and how that impacts breastfeeding. In your breast there is a mix of what we call ‘functional tissue’ and ‘fatty tissue’. We all have both types of tissue in our breasts, regardless of size; however, larger breasts do tend to have more fatty tissue than small breasts. As the name suggests, it is the ‘functional tissue’ that is responsible for making milk for your baby.

There are two things that happen when milk is made—think of them as factory production and warehousing. When your breasts feel full, this is because the warehousing capacity for milk storage has maxed out, and it causes factory production to slow until the baby feeds again. This slowing of factory production is actually why we recommend frequent feeds, as if the factory production grinds to a halt too often with full breasts, its production capabilities slow down overall, leaving less milk for your baby.

If your breasts are full, however, when your baby latches on in this situation, you may find them gulping away for the first minutes of the feed as they work their way through the stored milk. This doesn’t mean that if your breasts feel soft, you have no milk—your brilliant body has that factory production going 24/7! In fact, the emptier the warehouse, the quicker your factory is producing milk. (For more information on milk supply and storage, see episode 8 of this package.)

Breast size does not impact this process, and it is impossible to draw conclusions about supply from simply looking at breasts.

Breast size and feeding positions

Your breast anatomy can impact which feeding positions you find most comfortable (see Episode 5: Latching a newborn for positions). For example, someone with smaller breasts and easily visualised nipples will find that a cross-cradle position is fairly easy to achieve. However, they may find that side-lying in bed is tricky as their breast doesn’t ‘fall’ to the mattress, giving the baby easy access while lying next to them. This woman may find that a laid-back position (think watching TV in bed) with her baby on her tummy is an easier nighttime solution.

Conversely, a lady with very large breasts, or breasts where the nipple points downwards and isn’t easily visualised, may find the cross cradle a virtually impossible position to achieve. In this case, she may prefer a cradle position or even using a prop under her breast for support to give her a better visualisation of the nipple.

Regardless of breast size (and nipple placement), the important thing is to find a position where the baby is doing the following as they approach the breast:

Chin up
Chin into breast
Nose to nipple

If your baby approaches the breast like this (even if it’s in a non-conventional position), you will likely get a good latch.

Nipple size

One of the most common worries that I hear from mums is that their nipple shape or size isn’t “right” for breastfeeding. Many worry that it’s too flat, too wide, too long, or too inverted for their baby to manage.

My perspective is this: up until very recently (in the scheme of human history), babies were presented with some fairly harsh realities about their survival. They could either learn to breastfeed from the set of breasts (and nipples) they were presented with, they could feed off a wet nurse (if they had rich parents), or sadly, they would fail to thrive and survive. The way that evolution works is that if there was a nipple type that was incompatible with breastfeeding, the children of that unfortunate woman would not survive through adulthood to reproduce themselves. They would then not pass on the genes for ‘bad nipples', and eventually such nipples would disappear from society. The very fact that there is such diversity in nipple size, shape, and length proves to me that historically, women successfully fed their babies regardless of nipple variation and that they all ‘work’.

The other thing to remember is that your baby will learn to breastfeed from the breasts they are presented with. You may feel insecure about your breast or nipple size or shape, but your baby doesn’t judge or compare; they learn and adapt to their unique situation. There are a couple of anatomical types that are more vulnerable to complications if we aren’t careful, however:

Long nipples: in this case, you will find it quite easy to latch your baby onto the nipple, but you can struggle a little to ensure that they also get a mouthful of breast tissue in addition to the nipple. They need this mouthful to effectively drain the breast of milk. For these babies, pay particular attention to the ‘chin up, chin in’ part of the latch. Having their chin on the breast will help them get a good, deep mouthful of breast as well as a nipple.
Flat or inverted nipples—this shouldn’t be a problem initially, but these babies are more prone to ‘nipple confusion’ if a bottle is introduced too early. There are a myriad of cues to tell babies that they’ve arrived at the breast and to start sucking. One of these is the nipple gently tickling the roof of their mouth. This cue will be absent in a flat nipple; however, because there are many other cues and because they’ve never known any differently, these babies won’t notice that it’s missing. If a bottle is introduced in the early days, the firm silicone teat of the bottle will touch the roof of the baby’s mouth as a very clear signal to start sucking. When these babies come back to the breast, a small percentage of them may find it confusing to know when to start sucking without this cue. This is one of the reasons that we recommend not introducing a bottle until feeding is established.

In summary, you really shouldn’t worry about what your breasts or nipples look like—to your baby, they look perfect and will soon be their favourite thing to see!

Do breast and nipple size affect breastfeeding?

Unii Expert Wendy Lever answers the sometimes awkward nipple-size question for our Baby Feeding Journey.