Drinking Beer while Breastfeeding.

[2darlingboys]

Just watching Sunrise (since it's such a reliable source of info)

There was a story about Mariah Carey drinking beer while Breastfeeding & authories (DOCS) were going to see about the welfare of the children.

Is this normal?
I know drinking is bad while BF
(i never had any) but is it a DOCS issue?


(i did also see interview With her hubby saying their MW suggested a sip of it cause it's help with something I forget actual facts)

[Just*Ace]

I have heard the malt & yeast in beer helps with supply. Could that be why?

[MissEm]

If she is actually bf'ing and drinking alcohol at the same time then this is bad as alcohol goes into the breast milk and is passed on to the baby.

I think it takes roughly 1 1/2 hours for one standard drink to pass through your system.

http://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/bfinfo/drugs.html

[Me&MrMagoo]

A drunk or two is fine, she must be drinking truckloads for authorities to be called in ...

And as pp said, beer is actually good for milk production ...


* yes yes, it's an iPhone, please don't hold it against me ... *

[Maybelline]

Beer and breastfeeding.


Koletzko B, Lehner F.
Source

Div. Metabolic Diseases and Nutrition, Dr. von Haunersches Kinderspital, University of Munich, Germany.

Abstract

Traditional wisdom claims that moderate beer consumption may be beneficial for initiation of breastfeeding and enhancement of breastfeeding success. Here we review the question whether or not there is any scientific basis for this popular belief. There are clear indications that beer can stimulate prolactin secretion which may enhance lactogenesis both in non-lactating humans and in experimental animals. The component in beer responsible for the effect on prolactin secretion is not the alcohol content but apparently a polysaccharide from barley, which explains that the effect on prolactin can also be induced by non-alcoholic beer. No systematic studies are available to evaluate the clinical effects of beer on induction of lactogenesis, and short term studies have shown a reduced breast milk intake by infants after moderate alcohol consumption of their mothers. It is conceivable that relaxing effects of both alcohol and components of hop might also have beneficial effects on lactogenesis is some women, but there is no hard evidence for causal effects. It appears prudent not to generally advocate the regular use of alcoholic drinks during lactation but to rather refer mothers to non-alcoholic beer, even though no adverse effects of an occasional alcoholic drink during lactation have been documented.

PMID:11065057 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
I think it's fine to have a beer once in a while when BF......I did it and loved it!1!!

[threechooks]

I didn't see the sunrise special but his topic really irks me!

ahh! for gods sake! Breastfeeding women can drink alcohol, it just has to be timed right, or pumped and dumped. It is only a small amount that goes into breastmilk. Think of all the crap food we eat...coke, fruit with pesticides, hormones in meant preservatives, additives etc. Eating that crap while breastfeeding is not docs issue so why is beer?

I drink alcohol when breastfeeding. Not really in the first 6 weeks as they feed every every two hours. But as soon as I can establish a pattern with my baby and there is a 4-5 hour break between feeds I will be sucking back a large glass of wine or maybe even beer .

30 years ago advice was given by doctors and nurses that stout beer would increase your supply. I'm not saying its true but it has been done.

Sorry this topic is a pet peeve of mine...I'll get off my soapbox now

[ZumbaMumma]

In the states, if you so much as try to decline the antibiotic ointment they put in newborn's eyes (I noticed they don't do it here) the hospital will get child protective services on you. They are pretty strict about things so it doesn't surprise me that they'd want to investigate since she is in the public eye.

[bumMum]

Really? My grandma told me to drink guiness while beastfeeding lol! I didn't know it was bad? I though you just had to wait an hour before feeding? I actually asked my doctor because I used to go clubbing a lot and then come home to baby and he said only a very tiny amount passes through so its just a matter of waiting it out a few hours. Also american child protective servies is probably really different just like the whole country- don't they have some of the worst breastfeeding rates in the world? Maybe its just misinformation or something. I've never heard of it being a child safety concern before, its more of a commen sense issue really

[Tam-I-Am]

If she is actually bf'ing and drinking alcohol at the same time then this is bad as alcohol goes into the breast milk and is passed on to the baby.

That's just blatently untrue.

Your breastmilk alcohol level is always the same as your blood alcohol level. That means that if your blood alcohol level is 0.05 (the legal driving limit - you reach it after approximately 1 - 2 drinks), then your breastmilk alcohol level is *also* 0.05. Which means that your baby receives 0.05 of 1 ml of alcohol per 100ml. Which is less than that that's in commercial orange juice that you buy off the shelf in woolies.

That also means that if your blood alcohol level is 0.5 - and it can't be any more than that, given 0.5 is the level at which people go into alcoholic comas and die - your baby is getting half of 1ml of alcohol per 100ml of breastmilk.

It's hardly a lot of alcohol!

There *are* risks with drinking alcohol - but they're actually around breastmilk production (ie alcohol can suppress your prolactin levels, impacting your supply and your let down response), and obviously it's dangerous to look after an infant when you're intoxicated. Also, a mother who has been drinking should NEVER bedshare with an infant, that is *truly* dangerous. Also, a baby's liver doesn't start functioning as an adults until they're about 6 months old, so alcohol should probably be limited in the first six months of a baby's life.

But having a glass or two of wine? Not dangerous. Not to your baby, not to your supply, not to yourself.

This ongoing myth that mothers must be UBER careful of what goes in their mouth lest they poisin their child is one of the social barriers to being able to breastfeed.

[Just*Ace]

PP you don't actually have to pump & dump. Alcohol leaves your milk like it leaves your blood, pumping doesn't make it faster.
This sort of thing annoys me too! I'm on a FB page for young mums and one of them asked if she could have 1 vodka once her baby had gone to bed. All the people who answered said she had to wait 24 hours before feeding her baby! Hardly any of the people who answered had even BF a baby. Stuff like this in the news is just making people think BFing is so restrictive!