Alcohol and Breastfeeding

[emilysmumma]

I was just wondering a few things when it comes to drinking alcohol if your breastfeeding.

I've read somewhere that if you do have a drink you should wait 2 hours before you feed. Is this true?

It's just DD is now 6 months old and I wouldn't mind a drink now and then.
I have had a few after she has gone to bed for the night, knowing she isn't going to wake to be fed for at least 8 hours, but not to the point of inebriation (sp)

It's only a year out of my life I know or however long she wants to BF for, but I'm telling you girls, lately I sure could use a glass of wine early in the evening. :D (or make that 2 glasses :devil6: )

I just don't feel comfortable with having a drink knowing DD will have to be fed in a couple of hours. What do you guys do if you want a drink? Do you or don't you? And does anyone know the scientfic facts of what alcohol does to BF?

[kymmy]

I think it is ok to drink as you are.
Sounds safe now y baby is 6m and he sleeps 8hrs at night(lucky!)

I don't drink at all so it doesn't worry me! LOL

[Tam-I-Am]

For every standard drink (which is 100ml of wine - 30ml of spirits - not sure about others), you should wait 2 - 3 hours before a feed, is the general consensus.

I do have a few wines occassionally, but DD sleeps for 10 hours - I have maybe a glass or two, and know that I'll be right for the first morning feed.

There are quite a few threads around about this - maybe do a search, you're sure to come across them!

[Issey]

As long as you aren't feeding for a couple of hours I am sure it is fine to have a standard drink. Well I do anyway. I am probably a bad mummy as occassionaly have had a standard drink during the day.

There is now a low alcohol wine made by Brown Brothers 5.5% is about $11.50 a bottle or you can get West Coast Cooler for low alcohol (even though this reminds me of being 16!!)

[Jem]

There was something on the news the other night, about alcohol and breast feeding....

they suggested... if you have 2 standard drinks... you will be right to feed 3 hours after your last drink
:D

[reAllytee]

There has been a new study done on this & they dont condone drinking at all not even the one glass.
But if you were to have one they say to feed before you have the glass then wait at least 3hrs as the alcohol hits your milk 30-60mins after you drink it so pretty much an immediate reaction.
There hasnt been any real truths about how alcohol affects babies in the breastmilk until just recently with the Curtin Uni doing a study on it all.
It makes for a grumpier unsettled baby & also the myth about it helping with let down has been proven untrue. Was very interesting to hear about it.

[Lunar]

There has been a new study done on this & they dont condone drinking at all not even the one glass.
But if you were to have one they say to feed before you have the glass then wait at least 3hrs as the alcohol hits your milk 30-60mins after you drink it so pretty much an immediate reaction.
There hasnt been any real truths about how alcohol affects babies in the breastmilk until just recently with the Curtin Uni doing a study on it all.
It makes for a grumpier unsettled baby & also the myth about it helping with let down has been proven untrue. Was very interesting to hear about it.

Agree, agree, agree!!!

The study showed that yes you have to wait AT LEAST 3 hours after the drink before feeding. Your blood alcohol levels are the same in you breast milk. So whatever that is, is what your baby is drinking. If it's just one or two glasses, I really don't see the point. I didn't drink a drop while pregnant as that would go straight to the baby, I would never drink while BF (if I could BF that is, but that's another story:crying: ). JUst would never put my baby at risk of getting even the tiniest amount. My motto is....(it was also said on the program stated above) You wouldn't put alcohol in your baby's bottle, so don't put it into your breastmilk.
Makes sense to me:yes:

[reAllytee]

My motto is....(it was also said on the program stated above) You wouldn't put alcohol in your baby's bottle, so don't put it into your breastmilk.
Makes sense to me:yes:

Mine too but i didnt want to get shot down for saying lol :hugs: :p

[Lunar]

Mine too but i didnt want to get shot down for saying lol :hugs: :p

HA! No flies on my back Al, you should know that by now!

[kymmy]

Agree, agree, agree!!!

You wouldn't put alcohol in your baby's bottle, so don't put it into your breastmilk.
Makes sense to me:yes:

They used to, didn't they?

[reAllytee]

Not anyone i know of :eek: :eek: :eek:

[Lunar]

Not anyone I know of either. And if I was ever to see that I would at LEAST call the police...and take the child from the parents till they came! And take them to the hospital for sure!

[kymmy]

years and years ago
they use to suggest putting alcohol in the bottle
to help bub go to sleep or for pain.
True.
I woul not personally condone or suggest it though.
I am a teetotaller and breastfeeder for the record!

[reAllytee]

I have never heard of putting alcohol in a bottle but have heard of using it to rub over a babies gums when teething which is what my parents did with me.
I did it with Boof a couple of times cause he was teething from the moment he was born & i was at my wits end to help him be soothed.
But ive never heard of alcohol in a baby's bottle :shame:

[FourAngelKisses]

DH and I were at my parents one day and my older sister and her hubby were there too. My sister was breastfeeding her daughter and drinking beers at the same time. Not just one beer, or two, but 3 or 4. It really ****ed me off, I mentioned it to her and she just laughed it off saying she should sleep well tonight. :mad: :mad: :mad:

[Jem]

last weekend, i decided to have a couple of beers..

i made sure i put off feeding ds2 for 6 hours :yes:

[emilysmumma]

drinking and bf at the same time, what was your sister thinking angelkisses? :eek:

It certaintly puts it into perspective when saying you wouldn't put alcohol in a babies bottle.
I think I'll just do as I do and if I want a drink, just wait until she is in bed for the night when she won't need a feed for another 8 hours or so.

Guess it's like drink driving. I never drive if I've been drinking or I at least wait the required hours for it to leave my system before I do.

I have heard from my mother in law that she use to drink stout to help her with getting her milk supply happening. What the? and..... it was good for the baby!!!
Bloody old wives tales, I think it was more of an excuse to drink back then.

[FourAngelKisses]

That's the problem, she just doesn't think. She also put her daughter in a rocker and drove a 30km round trip when she was 3wks old as she didn't have the carseat (her husband had it in his car.)

Needless to say, I am rather angry that she is currently pregnant again. At the age of 31, she should have some brains in her head.

[emilysmumma]

I swear I see red when I hear stories about the stupidity of some parents.
It makes me so angry!!!!!

I believe that there really should be a license for people to have children. Just so they can at least have the basic safety issues drummed into their heads.

I'm concerned about alcohol affecting my little one, to the point that I didn't drink during the pregnancy and am going to make damn well sure if I do drink now it won't affect her.

[MonkeyMum05]

[quote=emilysmumma]
It certaintly puts it into perspective when saying you wouldn't put alcohol in a babies bottle.
quote]

I'm not posting this as an 'attack'... I just don't think it is a realistic comparison.
In my opinion breastfeeding after a drink and putting alcohol into a babies bottle are very different!
The concentration of alcohol in your blood = the concentration of alcohol in your milk... so if you had one drink, your blood alcohol would be pretty low... (not sure of the number)... and the baby would be taking in a minute amount of alcohol.
...as opposed to tipping it into their bottle and feeding it to them.
I think the comparison is a bit of an exaggerration.

[FourAngelKisses]

I'm telling you, if she lived closer I'd slap her silly and I'd take the baby off her and wouldn't give her back.

[Tam-I-Am]

Hang on - as someone else said, the concentration of alcohol in your blood stream is the concentration of alcohol in your breastmilk. If you have a couple of drink, wait a sufficient amount of time so that your blood alcohol level is back to 0.00, then you are fine to breastfeed your baby.

A 6 month old who is sleeping 6 hours at night - you are fine to have a couple of drinks.

As for the person who asked what's the point if you're only going to have one or two - well I do it probably 2 -3 nights a week (have 1 or 2 standard drinks, cause DD sleeps for 10 hours at night).

I know my BAL is back to 0.00 by the morning when I feed her, and the point is - because its a social thing, and I like to feel included. because I like the taste of wine, and don't see why, if I'm not doing anything that hurts anyone else, least of all my daughter, I should have to abstain. Because I enjoy the relaxation that I get from a glass or two of wine. And because I can.

[emilysmumma]

Plus there are some days that a drink or two in the evening is a great stress relief.

[MonkeyMum05]

Yes, Fridays my day! :thumbsup:

[reAllytee]

Yes maybe you BAL is down but it is still in your BM. This was a proper study done Tami not just something silly it was proven to have bad effects & the likes. You also have to remember what might be a small drink for yourself & your body weight is a hell of a lot different to a babies system because they are only a quarter of your size or the likes. Of course if you have bubs down for the nite fine but what happens if they wake & require a feed is my worry.
As another poster said & what was actually said by the professor who spoke about this study was that if you wouldnt be driving then why are you feeding your baby.
Sorry if this upsets some but when its there in cold hard facts now its something to be taken notice of especially as before this there was no real idea of what was happening in regards to affects on the baby etc. This study now shows it.

[kymmy]

I have never heard of putting alcohol in a bottle
But ive never heard of alcohol in a baby's bottle :shame:

Thank goodness! Sometimes things were done in the old day that we would never think of doing these days
eg. taking babe in the car without a seat
and lots more but i am sure we don't want to talk about that.

[Tam-I-Am]

I did A LOT of research on this before I decided what I thought was okay for me and my baby - everyone has to make that decision for themselves, of course, but I spoke to endless doctors, and lactation consultants.

Also, Ally, I really do have to disagree - all the research to date is very conclusive that as the maternal blood alcohol level returns to zero, the breastmilk ejects the alcohol that it has absorbed back into the maternal blood stream where it is re-processed by the maternal blood stream. That means that when the maternal blood alcohol level returns to zero, the breastmilk alcohol level also has returned to zero. Here are a couple of articles that are based on pretty conclusive research that back that up:

BTW, just for reference in the articles, Dr Thomas Hale is one of the world leading authorities on medications and breastmilk - he wrote the world renowned "Medications and Mother's Milk".

http://www.lalecheleague.org/FAQ/alcohol.html - by La Leche League, I believe its the American equivilant of the ABA - exerpt:

http://66.230.33.248/discus/messages/53/1374.html



As alcohol leaves the bloodstream, it leaves the breastmilk. [Sic] alcohol is not "trapped" in breastmilk (it returns to the bloodstream as mother's blood alcohol level declines)......


Dr. Jack Newman, member of the LLLI Health Advisory Council, says this in his handout "More Breastfeeding Myths":

"Reasonable alcohol intake should not be discouraged at all. As is the case with most drugs, very little alcohol comes out in the milk. The mother can take some alcohol and continue breastfeeding as she normally does. Prohibiting alcohol is another way we make life unnecessarily restrictive for nursing mothers."


Thomas W. Hale, R.Ph. Ph.D., member of the LLLI Health Advisory Council, says this in his book Medications and Mothers' Milk (11th ed.):

"Adult metabolism of alcohol is approximately 1 oz in 3 hours, so that mothers who ingest alcohol in moderate amounts can generally return to breastfeeding as soon as they feel neurologically normal."

Also:

http://66.230.33.248/discus/messages/53/1374.html

http://www.cfpc.ca/cfp/2002/Jan/vol48-jan-clinical-1.asp

http://www.obfocus.com/calculators/alcoholinmilk.htm (its in pounds, but its a calculator to estimate when alcohol would be clear of bloodstream based on maternal weight and number of drinks consumed).

There's heaps more - you just have to google.
Basically, yes I agree I would never expose my DD to alcohol - but that's what I'm saying, I'm not. It has been proven over and over again that milk returns to 0 as blood does.

[Tam-I-Am]

Also just found this:

http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh25-3/230-234.htm

interesting quote:


When a lactating woman consumes alcohol, some of that alcohol is transferred into the milk. In general, less than 2 percent of the alcohol dose consumed by the mother reaches her milk and blood. Alcohol is not stored in breast milk, however, but its level parallels that found in the maternal blood.

[reAllytee]

I havent got the details on the study but as i said it was just released the other day by Curtin University & has gone into a lot of detail with it all as a lot of questions were unanswered or were left open etc.
I realise what a lot of those are saying im just advising the new study points to there being problems but anyways thats enough from me :D

[Tam-I-Am]

Okay, googled Ally.

What the researchers said was steer clear in the first month - but limit alcohol to 2 standard drinks or less per day thereafter.

http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/15404/

[reAllytee]

Oh thankyou Tami !
I cant find anything on here anymore cause my lovely ( pfft :rolleyes: ) DP has changed the web browser we are using & it wont load all the pages etc & i cant get the bl**dy thing to work half the time so cant even find easy stuff & im ever so frustrated !!!!! Im not a geek so dont know how half this stuff works !!! He has even removed the old stuff so now i cant even use msn !!!!
Can you believe that !!!!
He is actually preventing me from gossiping more & having a life :( :p
I actually made a post about the new study but then looked like an idiot cause i couldnt get the link :rolleyes: Nothing unusual i suppose lol !

[Ange&Seth]

in the sort time that I was breast feeding, if I had a drink then I expressed off about 50-60mls from each breast before feeding DS. This is just what I felt comfortable with, as at the time, my SIL told me that once the alcohol was in your milk, it didn't get absorbed back into your bloodstream after a certain amount of time, but just stayed there. Broke my heart to throw out that BM but it felt right that my bub wasn't getting a dose of johnnie walker. If I'd known that the alcohol got absorbed back into your blood, then I wouldn't have bothered.

[MonkeyMum05]

Allyoo, would the study you are referring to be the one that was on the late night news a couple of nights ago? It sounds the same.

[rylea's mum]

i think there is a big difference between people who recklessly drink while breastfeeding and those who have a few every now and then.

obviously they are using there own judgement and doing what they think is alright, and using guidelines that have been advised to them.

i understand that it is a topic that raises alot of issues, but i really hope that the mothers who sensibly drink feel as though they are a minority and are bad mothers.

[Tam-I-Am]

Exactly Rylea's mum.

I guess to me, saying that a breastfeeding woman should never drink is like saying that you should never give a baby a drink out of a glass that once held alcohol.

If you do your research, know your limits, drink sensibly and wait a suitable period of time before feeding your baby after drinking so all alcohol has cleared from your system, then, to my understanding, there is no harm at all to the baby.

Having said that, I agree that everyone has to make up their own mind, and do what feels right for them.

I also feel that its quite sad for the women who do drink sensibly, and have made an informed decision about what they are doing, that people are so quick to judge. Not that I'm saying anyone here has done that - just that it does happen.

[LeighC]

Having read soooo much info on the subject I have felt it was OK to have a couple of drinks now and then. I am lucky that bubs slept through from three weeks onward but I always express a bottle for him if I am planning to have a drink so that if he does wake up there is something for him to eat with no chance he is getting any alcohol.

The blood alcohol thing works the same as if you were going to drive your car. Women metabolise alcohol at an approximate rate of 1 standard drink per hour and once your body has processed that drink it is gone from your system, it doesn't stay in your milk or anywhere else. This means that as long as you leave at least one hour for each drink before you have to feed again there is no problem. The rate of metabolism was determined by extensive studies in order to determine safe driving limits and guidelines.

Also, it is not at all like pouring alcohol down your baby's throat, the concentration in your bloodstream is much lower than in your glass, less than 0.05% after one standard drink.

I'm not saying whether anyone should or shouldn't drink, just that you can have a couple and not adversely affect your baby provided you plan ahead and are sensible about it.

Cheers

[reAllytee]

There is no way im judging anyone on this unless you count my cousins friends but we wont go into that. Of course your entitled to kick back etc we are all human after all :) .
Its the fact there is the misinformation out there & this is what this study showed.
It was also showing that what they thought previously in some instances was untrue.
Many women were actually drinking the same amount of alcohol they were before falling pg. Then breastfeeding as needed thinking there was no harm as it hardly affected the bm.
It also showed that it did linger in bm longer than previously thought etc they found that you needed to wait at least 3hrs before feeding after one glass not an hour like with how we drink thinking about our BAL.
Also there is the idea out there that a beer helps when in fact its been proven untrue also.
Anyways as i said last time enough from me :D

[rylea's mum]

Believe nothing, no matter where you read it or who has said it, not even if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.
- Buddha
:D

i agree with this quote and i feel it is some what fitting for this topic

[LillynJonson]

I believe in the saying a relexed mum equals a relaxed bub:D ! I plan on BF'ing my DS for as long as possible and I don't believe I would be as committed to this if I placed myself under strict restirictions as I did with my DD two years ago. I strongly believe the benefits of BF far outweigh the negative effects of a minute amount of alcohol that may be passed through my milk.

[emilysmumma]

Hey guys I didn't start this thread to upset anyone or for others to judge each other for having an opinion.

This was just a fact finding mission as I really hadn't heard anything about what was safe.
Of course abstaining would be best all round, everyone knows that, but really it's about being sensible and asking questions to get the right answers so you are informed to make a correct decision. (does that make sense:confused: )

If we didn't care, we wouldn't ask-right?

:)

[GIZMOE]

I'm not trying to upset anyone I just think that any drugs ( and alcohol is a drug) should be avoided. I was a smoker before I fell pregnant so I know whats it like when you want to just relax but I decided I couldn't go on smoking. I would love one now and then but it wouldn't be fare for bubs!

I just think when no one really knows what it does to bubs or what effects it could have on them later on in life then why risk it. It's only for a short amount of time.

[GIZMOE]

Best of luck ladies I hope you find the reasurrance you need.