Breastfeeding Article:

Alcohol and Breastfeeding

By Lorraine Cuadro

Lorraine Cuadro and her sons. Lorraine regularly writes articles for Mum Zone readers about various breastfeeding issues and aspects.

I often hear mums talking about how they didn't get to have a drink on their anniversary or how they couldn't have a big night on New Years Eve because they were breastfeeding. And while these concerns are real for many breast feeding mums, breastfeeding doesn't have to limit you as much as you may think.

It's true that alcohol does get absorbed into your breast milk much like it gets absorbed into your blood stream. And in about 2 hours a standard drink will also leave your breast milk just like it leaves your blood stream. So you can also plan to drink and breast feed in a way that will not harm your baby.

Planning to drink
The first thing to consider is the age of your baby. If your baby is under 6 months old your breast milk is his or her only food source so offering water, juice or other foods may not be an option.

The second thing to consider is how often your baby breastfeeds. If your baby is feeding every 2 hours you may be able to have one drink soon after breastfeeding and still have time for the alcohol to leave your body before your baby is due for his or her next feed.

A baby that's feeding every 4 hours may give you enough time to consume more alcohol and still breastfeed without being concerned.

Expressing breast milk
While you can't actually express the alcohol out of your breast milk, you can express a few days, weeks or even up to 3 months before you drink. That way you can relax and know that your baby has a batch of breast milk should you become concerned about the alcohol level in yours.

Baby's between 0-6 months drink an average of 800mls of breast milk in 24 hours. So if your baby has 10 feeds in this time and you are planning to express 2 feeds, you'll need to express about 160mls of breast milk.

Effects of alcohol
While frequent drinking is likely to slow your baby's growth and development, if you drink rarely and in small amounts the effects of alcohol on your baby are likely to be short lived.

• Because alcohol changes the taste of your milk you may find even one drink is enough to make your baby refuse your breast.

• Alcohol can make your baby very sleepy and while most mums crave a sleepy baby, alcohol induced sleep usually sees baby waking up frequently.

• Alcohol can also make it difficult for your milk to flow.

Thankfully all of these issues can be helped with lots of cuddles, kisses and even hand expressing to induce milk flow.

So the next time you want to enjoy a drink or two, know that with a little careful planning you can!

Back to Breastfeeding Articles