Breastfeeding and Alcohol

If you didn't drink alcohol while pregnant, why would you drink alcohol while breastfeeding? The alcohol is still passed through the breast milk. My opinion is to hold off until you wean.

My daughter was born on St. Patrick's day - I had my husband bring some guiness into the hospital! A glass of wine or a beer never bothered her. It made my son fussy, so I stopped or, on rare occasion, pumped and dumped. But a glass of wine per week should be just fine.

You're going to get a lot of negative comments about drinking and breastfeeding. Mine won't be one of the, but you'll definitely get some!

1) You're not a bad mom for wanting to have a drink or two.

2) As long as you drink responsibly there is no reason why you can't have a drink or two.

If you want to have a glass of wine, go for it! :) Drink the wine either while you are nursing or immediately after. It should be out of your system by the next nursing session, providing that the session is about 2 hours after your glass of wine.
The rule of thumb is if you can feel the effects of the alcohol, then you are too intoxicated to nurse. There really is no need to pump and dump, other than for your own comfort. Once the alcohol has left your blood stream, it has also left your milk.
Look on Kellymom.com for lots more information on any other breastfeeding questions you might have :)
Congratulations on your new baby and on the decision to breast feed. :D

my midwife told me I could have a glass right away. No more than two glasses though. And, she suggested actually having it either while nursing or right after, because the few hours before you nurse again will allow the alcohol to get through your system.
Congrat's on the new baby.
J.

You can drink a glass of wine if you want to, and please don't feel guilty about it. Yes, alcohol does get into the breastmilk, but in very small and diluted amounts, and only one or two glasses will not harm your baby. If you drink more than that you should hold off on breastfeeding until the alcohol passes through your system. Having a backup supply of pumped milk might put your mind at ease, so you can be sure you have something to feed the baby in case you overindulge. You do not need to "pump and dump," that is a myth and it will do nothing to help speed the process of cleansing your system. Breastmilk, like blood, will contain alcohol until it is filtered out naturally by your body, and only time will make that happen.

Congratulations on your new baby!

My opinion why chance it pump ahead enough so you dont have to worry

The most common sentiment is don't drink or only drink one after a feeding. You can however buy breast milk testing kits called Milkscreen. I have found that after a feeding I can have up to two before the next feeding without having unsafe levels of alcohol in my breast milk. 2% of the alcohol you ingest gets into breastmilk. Because milk is a blood product, if its out of your system its out of your milk. So if you no longer feel the effect of the alcohol it gone from your milk as well. My baby cluster fed in the evening, so I found that the window of three hours to have a few drinks didn't really work out. Instead I stick to one drink in the evening. After baby starts sleeping through the night, you can have a couple after you put baby down. I personally love to sip port now after baby is down as it is more of a night cap drink. I so know what you mean though. I was dying for a drink when baby was brand new because it was so hard and so stressful and I just wanted one.

You can drink in moderation... and one glass if definitely ok! If you feel more than lightly buzzed, that is when you must wait at least 3 hours before you breastfeed again because the alcohol will be in the blood to milk ratio enough for you to notice sedation in your baby.

That day! We had champagne a few hours with friends after the delivery. After almost 10 months of no drinking, there was no way I was going to wait for however long I breastfed to have some beers or wine. I enjoy it and like it and I was DONE with not having any while pregnant! I always pumped and dumped if I was going to drink more than one or two glasses of wine or beer. I would pump and dump about 2 hours after drinking if I had gotten a "buzz." However, I've read since that due to your breast milk being filtered, you don't really even have to do that. Your breast milk IS filtered by the way, so it's not like your glass of wine is going straight into your baby. You run into problems if you drink all the time -every day -and somewhat to excess. If you want to have a drink WHILE breastfeeding -that's fine because that will not go straight into your milk for the baby. You may also find that you produce a lot more milk when you have a few drinks. I never had an adequate supply -unless I drank a few beers, then I had a bunch!

I would have a glass of wine here and there. I would make sure that my daughter was fed and that I had at least one feeding for her so I had a few hours to get rid of the alcohol in my system.

My doctor and me were pretty lax about it because I wasn't a big drinker. I once got some sideways glances at a family party for having a sip of my wine when my daughter was breastfeeding. A SIP! I just wanted to taste it.

I think our bodies and babies are much more resiliant that we give credit for and everything is moderation is acceptable. Do what you and your doctor are comfortable with and always have a pumped bottle aside just in case!

I think they sell alcohol strips at Target to test the milk.

I would suggest reading this article and deciding for yourself http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh25-3/230-234.htm. The levels of alcohol in your milk will peak 30-60 minutes after your intake, but will take several hours to disappear completely. There is some evidence that it can decrease your supply and also that children exposed to alcohol through milk develop a preference for the taste of alcohol.

I was pretty paranoid about it when I was breastfeeding and the only time I would have a drink was right after my son's last feeding for the night when he was sleeping for about 8 hours (so not when he was a newborn).

i was told that it takes a couple hours to get through your system and if you feel the effects of it still, don't breastfeed.

I wouldn't do it. I'd wait until I was finished breastfeeding. This is a short period of your life but so important for baby. That's just my opinion but it's easy for me to say since I don't drink. But that was my first thought. I wish you the best and congratulations!

everyone has their different opinion on the subject but according to my BF nurse that I went to as a rule of thumb if you feel the alcohol in the system then don't feed the baby. If you don't feel like you have had a drink most likely the alcohol is not in your breastmilk. So that being said I have had a glass of while or a drink or two at night after baby has gone to bed, my wee one is about 8 mo old and sleep a good 6-9 hours so therefore I feel it is safe.

You can check your breast milk for alcohol-there are these strips that they sell. Whoever said pumping in advance then having it was good advice-I think.

I THINK the la leche league says that, if you have 1 drink, the alcohol is out of your system two hours later. Check the website - but I think that is right.

I didnt have any drinks for the first month or two (too tired!) after the baby was born. My daughter is now one and I am still breastfeeding. I have @ 3 drinks a week - normally after she is in bed so I wont be nursing her again for hours.

Double check with your dr or a lactation consultant, but I'm pretty sure that you don't really have to wait. I think if you have a glass of wine, its gone out of your bloodstream by the time you'll need to feed..so as long as it's not binge drinking :), I don't think there is a worry.

I'm breastfeeding and I sometimes have a drink during the evening. I try to time it so that my daughter has just fed and is down for her 4 hour sleep, so then by the time she feeds again, my liver has processed all the alcohol. If you do drink more than that and plan to drink close to the next feed - just feed her from a bottle, express so that your supply stays up and then throw out what you express!
Pumping and dumping doesn't get rid of the excess alcohol in the milk (if you've had more than say two drinks), it's got to be out of your blood.
Enjoy that wine! Some days, you really do need it :)

it is ok to have a glass of wine right after you nurse. But if you want to be safe they sell these test strips at babies r us that you can test the alcohol level in your milk before you nurse. I forget what they are called, but if you do a search online or go there, i'm sure you'll find them. Congrats on the new little one.