Interesting article I read about breastfeeding and alcohol.

I read it last night but, I can't find it now. So I'll summarize.

Alcohol enters your breastmilk just like it does the bloodstream. As soon as you have alcohol in your blood, it's in your breastmilk. Likewise, it is metabolized the same way. As soon as the alcohol is out of your blood, it's out of your milk. It's not like once it gets into your milk.. it's there forever and that milk is always "Spiked". (that's totally what I thought!)

Say you want to have one drink. The best thing to do is to feed the baby and then have the drink right after that. By the time the next feeding comes around the alcohol will be gone from your system and you can feed the baby without pumping and dumping.

Say you want 2 or 3 drinks. Feed the baby and then start drinking. Well, then by the time the next feeding comes around, you will likely still have alcohol in your blood. At this point, you should feed the baby some of the pumped milk from your freezer stash. So you have skipped one feeding. If you are not feeling tipsy by the time the 3rd feeding comes around.. then go ahead and feed him. If you are, give him more from your freezer stash.

So this is where pumping and dumping comes into place. When you skip a feeding you may or may not get painfully engourged. If you do you will probably have to pump a bit for comfort (not to empty the breast but, just to feel better). Well now, this pumped milk is out of your body and therefore the alcohol will not be metabolized and that pumped milk will remain "spiked". This is the milk you would dump.

So the only reason to pump and dump is to prevent engourgment. If you don't get engourged and you sober up. Then you are fine to feed the baby.

One other thing I read was under 3 months, the baby's liver is not fully developed. It will take him double the time to proces the alcohol. So you might want to wait until after 3 months to have any alcohol. That way, any traces that might get into him will be metabolized quickly by him.
( I had on 4 occasions, 1 drink between 7/12 weeks and now 11 1/2 weeks. SO of course, I am freaking a bit. But, I think he's fine. It was only one drink so I guess he's okay)

But, I just thought that I pass that on. I was totally confused about it and thought that the milk that was already in my breasts couldn't get tainted with alcohol and that the later feedings woud get the alcohol. Wrong. The milk that is already there gets alcohol right away and the later feedings are fine.

Message edited 8/1/2009 7:03:32 AM.

Re: Interesting article I read about breastfeeding and alcohol.

I found it again. Here's the link to the article.
link

Re: Interesting article I read about breastfeeding and alcohol.

Thanks... great explanation!

Re: Interesting article I read about breastfeeding and alcohol.

It can be confusing. I read somewhere that if you are sober enough to drive, you are sober enough to breastfeed, which makes sense. I pretty much go by that.

Re: Interesting article I read about breastfeeding and alcohol.

Re: Interesting article I read about breastfeeding and alcohol.

Yup, that's all true. As long as you are not BFing while drunk, having a drink (or a few) isn't an issue with your milk. I've had a couple pf drinks on more than one occasion while breastfeeding my two. I've never had to pump & dump. Of course, I usually wait until the babies are asleep before having any drinks so by the time the next feedings come around it's the next morning & obiously the alcohol is long gone. I always go by the "sober enough to drive, sober enough to BF rule." Anyway, DD is nearly 4 now (she was BF for 2 years) & has yet to ever suffer the effects of spiked milk

Re: Interesting article I read about breastfeeding and alcohol.

Thanks. Good to know. I wonder if the same is true for caffeine.

Re: Interesting article I read about breastfeeding and alcohol.

Thanks for that information - funny I had a glass of wine at dinner after I BF DS!

Re: Interesting article I read about breastfeeding and alcohol.

Thank you for sharing this. I have been wondering about this and haven't had a drink since DS was born because of this.