2006-06-21 02:52:07 · 25 answers · asked by girl 89 2 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Newborn & Baby
You can drink occasionally in small amounts (no more than 2 normal sized drinks) without it affecting breastfeeding or your baby. Your baby will be at lower risk from this than from getting formula.
If you drink more than that at one time, you can resume breastfeeding once you feel normal/sober or after 3-4 hours.
It is *never* necessary to pump and dump your milk. It will *not* help get the alcohol out of your system. And, once the alcohol leaves your body, it is *gone*. Your breasts (you may have noticed) are *part* of your body!
If you do drink and nurse your baby, she/he will get a dose of the alcohol. But...really drunk is 0.1% blood alcohol. Your milk, therefore, would have 0.1% alcohol in it. A beer is 5% alcohol--50 times as much.
After drinking, your baby may nurse less. She/he will make up for it a few hours later. Again, this is *not* a problem.
See sources section below; this is a reference to a page on the Web site of Dr. Thomas Hale, the world's foremost expert on breastfeeding and drugs. You can believe him long before all the people here who will try to scare you into thinking you will harm your baby. (You need to sign into the Web site as a guest, but you do *not* need to give any personal information.)
And, while weיre on the subject, water is the best thing to drink, but you can drink soda or eat whatever you want *unless* you see that it has a bad effect on your baby. (And if anything does, it is most likely to be dairy, not any sort of "junk food".) Your baby will be well-nourished unless you have had a truly horrendous diet for years. *You* may suffer if you don't eat well, but the baby will be fine. Soda won't give your baby gas; unless your blood is carbonated after drinking it, baby won't get it at all!!
2006-06-21 03:00:06 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Not heavy drinking - the American Academy of Pediatrics does say, however, that occassional 1-2 drinks is compatible with breastfeeding. You may be able to get a way with a little more once your baby is sleeping through the night consistently - if she wont wake up for 6 or more hours, then you could probably have 3, but I wouldnt push it beyond that. Also, another option is pumping...when you drink you could feed your baby pumped milk that you pumped while not drinking...the rule is atleast 2 hours per drink - so if you have 5 drinks, you need to pump enough milk to supply your baby with atleast 10 hours. But, doing stuff like that MUST be rare...it's not good for your baby to have that.
2006-06-21 13:35:46 · answer #2 · answered by dixiechic 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can drink a beer a day to help lactation. I wouldn't risk hard liquor even if it's in a mixed drink.. there are no studies showing it's okay for baby. If you are pumping milk to store up to go out with hubby, you can drink and then through away milk up to 8hours after last drink. I have 5 kids and breastfeed all of them up to 10 months long. I went out probably three times with liquor involved with hubby and all the alcohol went to my ta tas. I didn't even get buzzed with 4 mixed drinks each time.
My advise is that if you like the taste, go ahead and have a beer once in awhile and have a virgin(non-alcoholic) mixed drink. But if you are looking for a buzz or to get drunk to celebrate, don't even bother until you are done breastfeeding.
2006-06-21 03:56:36 · answer #3 · answered by missy 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hello,
Yes you can drink on occasion while breastfeeding. Just get a breastpump... which you will need anyways. When you do drink, pump your milk and throw it away. The alcohol stays in your milk... so waiting will not work. You have to get rid of it. As long as you are not drinking all the time... and throw out the milk, it is fine.
2006-06-21 05:35:20 · answer #4 · answered by confused? 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it is not advisable to drink while breastfeeding, don't forget that u'll pass on to ur baby whatever u take in thru breastmilk. if at all u're tempted to drink take very little and let it be once in a while not an everyday drinking. i drink once in a while like once in a month and i'm breastfeeding.
2006-06-21 03:23:37 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, you can in moderation. Small amounts of alcholol do make it into your milk supply but the effect on the baby is negligible. If you go out and get drunk, just pump and dump that night or the next morning. But 2 or three beers/drinks is okay occasionally. If you drink more often you probably should just formula feed.
2006-06-21 03:22:16 · answer #6 · answered by Laura S 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Alcohol does go through breastmilk. You must wait 90 minutes for it to be processed. You can't pump it out any sooner. You hopefully aren't drinking while you are pregnant so you should be able to make it. A drink now and then should be OK but trust me you won't want more than that because you don't want to be caring for a newborn with a hangover!!!
2006-06-21 05:06:16 · answer #7 · answered by samuels_mom_2 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you can drink while breastfeeding you have to wait 24 hour after drinking though.
2006-06-27 15:04:09 · answer #8 · answered by crazy for pullen22 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Of course you can. Just don't over do it. One glass of wine is fine. It will make the baby sleepy and nothing more. You don't, however, want to get completely hammered and then breastfeed. If you do make sure you "pump and dump" and also drink lots of water to replinish your system. But one glass of wine is fine. Afterall, you haven't drank alcohol in 9 months! Everything in moderation is ok - except when pregnant.
2006-06-21 03:51:03 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you plan on drinking, be prepared to pump and throw out your breast milk for the next 24 hours and drink plenty of water to flush your system.
2006-06-21 03:28:21 · answer #10 · answered by Cindy J 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋