Drinking an Alcoholic Beverage

Alcohol peaks in your breastmilk 30-60 minutes after consumption,, 60-90minutes when taken with food. It takes 3-4 hours for one drink to leave your system. It's pretty safe to have a couple of drinks (however if we're talking hard alcohol I might limit it to one, as opposed to a glass or two of wine). Try to time your nursing around the peaks, however very little passes through your milk (when drinking is moderate) so don't' stress about it too much, and be sure to drink plenty of water. I'm a Lactation Educator by the way :) Cheers :)

My opinion may not be popular, but I think you can pretty much drink whatever you want whenever you want. The reason I say this is that my in-laws are Italian (live in Italy) and my sister in law not only drank wine while pregnant, but continued to drink wine and occasionally grappa while nursing, with no ill effects whatsoever. (Mind you, it's not that she was a drunk, this is maybe 1 glass or less per day.) This is extremely common throughout Europe. I really do think that in America we have this Puritan complex where we want moms to suffer! If whole other continents have moms who drink alcohol while nursing, and their children turn out fine, I think that is evidence enough for me that I can enjoy a guilt free martini every now and then. =) I never noticed any difference in how my girls acted whether or not I breastfed them after a drink. I say, go ahead and enjoy your margarita, you've earned it.

Hi A.,

I have been breastfeeding my seven month old baby from day one. On the rare occasion that I've indulged in an alcoholic beverage I've waited at least an hour before breastfeeding. I usually also will drink a quantity of water to flush the alcohol out of my system or I might even have a bite to eat to soak it up. A lactation consultant once told me to treat it as you would drinking and driving. So I think 1-2 hours is perfectly safe.

it filters out of your breast milk the same way it filter's out of your blood

I drank moderately pretty early (about a month) after giving birth. My doctor told me that officially, no alcohol is recommended. However, unofficially, as long as I don't feel the effects of the alcohol, it has passed through my system and I am okay to nurse. For me, that happens to be about 1 1/2 to two hours.
Your body is a good filter and you should definitely pay attention to how your baby reacts after you drink. I've had friends whose babies got gas and greenish poop as a result. Neither one of my babies reacted at all. I chose to drink wine rather than hard alcohol in the beginning because the alcohol wore off sooner allowing me to nurse sooner.
I have had a night out and away from my current nursling but she takes the bottle just fine.

I have a beer or a glass of wine on occasion. I don't think it is a bad thing as one of the other posts said. I have heard that it takes 2-4 hours for alcohol to leave your system, but I don't think one drink will have any effect on the baby, it hasn't on mine. Now drinking in excess would call for a pump and dump, but I personally am not comfortable drinking that much and only stick to one drink. Enjoy your Margarita :)

It takes two hours to reach your milk, so if you drink at night after your last feeding then it will likely be 4-6 hours till your next feeding and the alcohol, if any in your milk, will be very diluted.

This is a very contriversial issue as it is not known how much actually reaches your milk. Ten years ago though it was said that drinking beer and eating peanuts enriched your milk.

The worst that may happen is the baby will sleep really, really well! <grin>

ENOJOY!!

very interesting issue being that there is so many different takes on what to do. the consensus seems to be..it's okay to have a drink.

it takes more than 2 hrs for it to even be in your breastmilk and by then it is so filtered that the chance of your baby being affected by the one drink you had is next to none. like the one mom said...the worst thing that can happen is your baby sleeps a little longer :)

you could always pump and dump if you are concerned. good luck!

A friend of mine drank a strawberry margerita and her son got hives and was vomiting from an allergic reaction to strawberries. That is what my concern woule be.

Its best to do it soon after you nurse. I wouldn't recommend more than two drinks occasionally. Many nursing books go into more detail, like Dr Sears or those available from La Leche League or even the AAP nursing book. It may temporarily decrease your milk supply if I remember correctly. So drink plenty of water. I would take it slow, have a small drink the first time and see how it feels and if you notice any affect on your baby. I waited until 8 months when my son could go longer periods without nursing, & could more easily accept substitutes for nursing and mom.

Hi A.,
I just avoided the whole issue and found good non alcoholic drinks. You're not so much drinking for the effect but rather the yummy taste and the feeling that its something special anyway. My hubby used to make great little healthy juice concoctions and put an umbrella in it!

I ended up being so convinced that we don't have anything fun and healthy to drink while we're nursing and pregnant that I invented my own. We're finally launching the drink - Glow Mama (my son is now 14months old)- see what you think.. www.drinktoglow.com

We have great delish recipes for virgin cocktails (ironic huh!) on the website and some pretty cool articles. Send me a message or email and I can send you some for free if you like.

Cheers,
L.