can you drink alcohol while breastfeeding ?

Answer 1

No you cannot. Consult with your doctor before doing so.

Answer 2

YES
You can drink alcohol while breastfeeding.

Current research says that occasional use of alcohol (1-2 drinks) is not harmful to the nursing baby. The American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Drugs classifies alcohol (ethanol) as a “Maternal Medication Usually Compatible With Breastfeeding.”

You must have to be careful about how you time your drinks. A good rule of thumb is that "if your head is clear, your milk is too" or "if you are sober enough to drive, you're sober enough to nurse." Less than 2% of the alcohol consumed by the mother reaches her blood and milk.

Many experts suggest waiting 2 hours after having a drink to nurse. There is NO NEED to pump and dump unless you are engorged! Pumping and dumping does NOTHING to speed the elimination of alcohol from your milk. Alcohol leaves the milk in the same way it leaves your bloodstream. Pumping and dumping is POINTLESS.

Answer 3

There ARE doctors who say a minuscule amount of alcohol won't affect the baby, but there are others who say to remain completely sober. It depends how you look at it, really. You CAN drink alcohol, though it's not recommended. Anything you drink can pass through your breast milk. If you DO have an alcoholic drink, it's best to wait at least 2 hours before breastfeeding. And that means 2 hours PER DRINK. If you have 3 beers, then you shouldn't breastfeed for at least 6 hours. You can always pump and dump though, meaning you can drink, and if you find yourself getting engorged, you can pump the milk and just dispose of it. If you are wanting to go out for a night of drinking, I would recommend pumping extra milk for the little one so he'll be set while you're out, and then waiting the time needed to get the alcohol out of your system before feeding again.

Answer 4

"Some health care providers feel it is best to avoid all alcohol while nursing. Some feel that occasional moderate drinking is okay and some feel that if any alcohol is consumed, you should pump and dump for 24 hours."
"Alcohol clears the breast milk in about the same amount of time it takes to clear the blood stream. If you are planning to drink heavily (more than 2 drinks), you may want to give it 6-8 hours to clear your system," Ryan says.

But Denise G Hewson, RN, IBCLC at the Breastfeeding.com web site has a different view. "By the time you are no longer feeling "tipsy" it is okay to feed your baby. Alcohol does not go into your milk and stay there. It goes in and comes out. If you feel ok, then most of the alcohol is out of your milk. If you have any doubt, pump and dump one time and that should be fine."

But the American Academy of Pediatricians has a still different view: While you are nursing, avoid drinking alcohol because it can pass through your milk to your baby. If you choose to drink alcohol, drink it just after you nurse rather than just before.


Moderation is Key
Although these experts disagree about the length of time between drinking and breastfeeding, one thing they all agree about is that mothers who drink while breastfeeding should only do so moderately and "moderate" means no more than two drinks per day.
Heavy drinkers or alcoholics who breastfeed should "abstain from drinking alcohol until their babies are weaned" the Recovery Emporium suggests. Alcohol readily enters breast milk and heavy alcohol consumption has been shown to reduce lactation.

Answer 5

Techincally you can. They say you can drink 1 glass of wine (that is 4 ounces) or 1 can of beer a day and you can do this up to twice a week. They recommend no hard alcohol since it is hard to determine how much alcohol is in the mixed drink.
You can pass it on through your breastmilk. I couldn't even eat chocolate with one of mine because she projectile vomited every time I had it.
I cannot say that I never drank a glass of wine while breastfeeding, but I did it after the kids slept through the night and after their last feeding. I then pumped later to keep as much as possible out of their system.
So it is up to you. How important is the alcohol? If you are going for a night out then pump before so you can drink and feed the baby the pumped milk while you are out. That is what I did on my anniversary.
Good Luck!

Answer 6

Everything in Moderation. Can you drink? Yes. 1 or 2 glasses of wine or the equivalent. Takes about 4 hours for the alcohol to leave your system.

Should you drink while breastfeeding? Completely up to you. Wouldn't recommend getting fall down drunk and then feeding the baby, tho.

Answer 7

It depends on how much alcohol you want to consume. In moderation it's perfectly fine. My lactation consultant said that it's fine to have 1-2 alcoholic beverages per day while breastfeeding but it's best not to do that EVERY day. Try to space them out a little bit and it's best not to feed for 2-4 hours afterwards. That will give your body plenty of time to absorb the alcohol and start passing it out.

Answer 8

When I was breastfeeding, my grandmother absolutely insisted that the best way to make sure that you have plenty of milk is to eat spaghetti and drink ONE can of beer per day. She insists that the yeast in the beer makes more milk. Incidentally, this woman had 12 babies of her own and breastfed all of them. I took her advice and it worked amazingly well.

This is the same Granny that kept putting aloe vera on our cuts and burns --- 20 long years before medical science "discovered" that aloe vera is great for cuts and burns. Sometimes old fashioned remedies from Granny are better than the latest breaking news.

I think you should drink ONE beer and have some spaghetti to go with it.

Answer 9

If you want a drunk baby you can. Alcohol will last for 24 hours in your milk but during that 24 hours period you should pump and dump. Give your baby express milk (express for a few days before you would like a drink) or formula. Breast milk can be kept in the fridge for 24 hours and the freezer for about 3 months.

Answer 10

depending on the age of the baby, pump & dump if under 3 months for even one beer or glass of wine. If you are having 1 cocktail, or one glass of wine and the baby is over over three months old it is ok. Keep in mind that it takes one hour for every oz of alcohol to pass through your system, so if you have 8 beers, you need eight hours of pumping & dumping...if you haven't built up a supply in the deep freeze... then your baby will starve... as long as you can controll your drinking & stop at 2 or 3 drinks you & your baby will be fine.

Answer 11

they say you can have one unit when breast feeding but i would advise you not to drink at all as a small percentage of the alcohol gets though into the milk and as you are breast feeding you are wanting to give the baby the best start in life, try non alcoholic drinks if you go out they are not too bad good luck