Alcohol guidelines...

[nicholeraine]

My son is almost 14 months old and I recently had my first drink since before I got pregnant.. I had only one drink, on a full stomach, and didn't nurse him for 4 hours.

I've read so many different opinions on the "right" thing to do.. I've read you can nurse again 2-3 hours after drinking.. is that PER drink, or in total?

[Bena]

I have yet to find "official" guidelines. This is just me, (and I completely respect and understand someone who would abstain from drinking while BF) but I've been having a small glass of wine a couple of times a week, with dinner, since DD was born, and haven't given much thought about it. I don't feel the effect of that amount of alcool, especially not with food, so I'm not worried about it. I have friends who don't drink at all while BF, and other who do. None of them are getting sloshed, though, we're taking one glass with a meal.
My Dr. is aware of this (during my regular check-up, she always asks about eating and drinking habits, and she's aware that I'm EBF) and didn't say anything one way or the other.
But again, like I said, I'm not aware of what the official guidelines are, or even if there are any.

ETA: I remember from my DDC having a discussion about drinking during pregnancy, and it did come out that this was a cultural issue; in Europe, women have no issues having ONE drink every once in a while, while here, in North America, the bottom line is complete abtinance. I find this a very interesting thing and my guess you'd find similar differences about drinking while BF.
I guess I should add that my family is French, and while I would (personally) never drink during pregnancy, when I came home from the hospital with DD, my mom was waiting with dinner and a glass of wine for me!

[mamadelbosque]

I've been nursing for more than 3 yrs straight... and aside from the 9 months I was pregnant with ds2, drank during all of it. The level of alcohol in your breastmilk is directly equivalent to that in your blood - so even if your totally, completely, utterly wasted, your blood alcohol level is going to be like .2 - thats 0.2% by volume. Beer (for reference) is like 3-5%. And thats if your absolutely wasted (keep in mind the 'legal limit' is 0.08%). As a result, I've never worired in the least little bit about having a beer or a glass of wine or a margharita or anything else. I'm not getting wasted, so I'm not worried. The tiny bit of alcohol in my breastmilk is just not a worry for me, at all. Good luck!!

[tri31]

Hi I agree with the pp. I'll have one small glass of wine with dinner a few times a month. I always wait till my ds has nursed. My doctor says this amount is not anything to worry about.

[blessedwithboys]

oh, man, as long as youre not too drunk to care for your LO you're fine. if you can walk straight and hold the baby safely to actually latch, its no big deal.

my rule was more than drink=no co-sleeping. other than that, i didnt really think about it too much

ps: "no driving" goes without saying

[*MamaJen*]

The way I understand it, for the alcohol in your breastmilk to impact your baby, you would have to be far too drunk to actually care for the baby. Nursing during or after a drink or two is totally fine.
That whole concept that you can't drink at all while breastfeeding is just one more thing that makes women think that nursing is a PITA and will constrict their lifestyle.

[Asiago]

Here's some info from Ameda:
(see the last question down at the bottom right)

http://tinyurl.com/y7t2utt

[averlee]

I've been assured many times- by grandmothers, midwives, pediatricians, and even the people at WIC- that moderate drinking while breastfeeding is perfectly ok. You do not need to pump & dump or wait a certain number of hours. Obviously, excessive drinking and alcoholism are not healthy for mothers, but even several drinks a week is well within a acceptable range.

[AFWife]

Your breastmilk will only be as alcoholic as your blood. So, if you're blowing .08 (the legal "limit" in most states...and I'm VERY drunk when I blow that...college *shrugs*) then your breastmilk is 8% alcohol. Therefore, a couple of drinks probably puts your breastmilk at less than a percent alcohol by volume.


There was a tribe floating around called "Lactivism Lushes" for a while.

[mamadelbosque]

Your breastmilk is definetly not 8% alcohol when you blow .08. If it was, then so would your blood - it'd be more alcoholic than the beer you drank. And its not. If it was, you'd be dead. Its 0.08% alcohol.

[lunarlady]

I was told that as a general rule of thumb, about 1/100 of the alcohol you drink makes it into your breastmilk. So for every glass, a couple drops worth makes it into your milk (and that is split between both sides). With that in mind, I feel fine having a drink or two and BF right away. My parents rubbed my gums with brandy when I was teething, and I'm doing alright! So I really don't think a drop or two of an alcoholic beverage will do any harm to baby. It does clear from your milk with time, so if you are concerned, you can wait a few hours. The rate at which it clears depends on your metablolism, just like clearing from your blood.

That said, if you really tie one on I would pump and dump. I have a friend who went out to a party and got wasted, then came home and pumped. She swore the milk smelled like vodka. Creepy! I'm not a big drinker, so that was never a concern for me. And, of course, I wouldn't really feel safe holding or nursing baby if I was that drunk. Far better to have a bottle from somebody sober!

[marinak1977]

I'm with everyone else - 0.08% alcohol in your milk is less alcohol than there is in kefir. And you'll need a lot of kefir to have any effect (I'm a Russian, we think of things like that ) I think even immature liver can deal with that amount of alcohol.
So... I'm a lot more worried and careful about drinking and cosleeping - basically I wouldn't have more than a glass of wine and drink many hours before going to bed so that I'm absolutely sober when we sleep. Same for DH. The bonus - no hungover.

[Parker'smommy]

I partake in alcohol while breastfeeding and have never encountered a problem. Like everyone said, the actual percentage of alcohol in your blood is minimal at best. I don't get drunk because I'm caring for a baby. Also, when baby is brand new, I'll nurse baby, and then have a drink right after nursing. But I'll have a glass of wine...or two.