Breastfeeding & Alcohol: What You Need to Know

Breastfeeding & Alcohol: What You Need to Know

As a breastfeeding parent, you have probably heard inconsistent information regarding breastfeeding and alcohol consumption. Things like using alcohol test strips and pumping and dumping are no longer considered best and safest practice. I'm sure you have gone back and forth hearing different people say it's fine to have an occasional drink or you can't have a drink at all while breastfeeding. This Milk It blog post will go over the safety highlights on how you can safely have an occasional drink and safely continue your breastfeeding journey.  

 How can you have an occasional drink and continue breastfeeding? The answer to that question depends on several facets, including what type of alcohol you're drinking and how much you're consuming. We will cover it in this post so that you can make an informed decision about whether or not it is safe to drink alcohol while breastfeeding.

Can Alcohol Transfer into Your Breastmilk?

 If you are curious if alcohol can truly pass through your breast milk to your baby, the answer is it absolutely can. Practically anything you consume in your body, whether food or drink, can be passed on to your baby through your breastmilk. This is why these recommendations apply for someone that wants to have an occasional drink.   

 Alcohol can negatively affect your baby even in small amounts. It is often not recommended to drink while breastfeeding as the safest option. Nonetheless, the CDC states moderate alcohol (about 1 drink per day) is okay for breastfeeding mothers especially if the mother waits at least 2 hours after a single drink before nursing.

So, safety is key when making a decision to have an occasional drinking while breastfeeding. Your doctor can help you better determine what is the best options if you have a drink while breastfeeding and further discuss the risk to your infant. This blog is intended to provide the highlights of how to safely have an occasional drink when breastfeeding and what current research says about the topic. The intention is to provide information so you can make the best decision for your family with your health care team.

Should I Pump & Dump?

Another question moms often ask is should I pump and dump if I want to drink? Pumping and dumping is essentially expressing your breast milk, then discarding it.

 It takes about an hour for alcohol to reach your breast milk after drinking one alcoholic beverage. So, if you want to be safe and avoid giving your baby any alcohol, wait at least two hours (or more if needed) after having one drink before breastfeeding again. You should not be feeling any effects of alcohol when you decide to breastfeeding again. So, if you can wait 2 hours per drink there is no need to pump and dump!

 If you have more than one drink, or need help deciding what counts as one drink you can use the "Time To Zero" milk alcohol calculator from the infant risk center using this calculator from infantrisk.com.

 Drink Responsibility

Milk It Lactation Service LLC is a judgment-free space that believes in providing education to parents that will allow them to make a safe and informed decision. We want parents to be able to have an occasional drink and safely continue their breastfeeding journey. So often parents end their lactation journey before they were ready due to lifestyle restrictions surrounding breastfeeding.

 Have that glass of wine with dinner or during the holidays! Unwind a little, because you deserve it! Just make sure you understand the safety precautions to take to keep your baby healthy. For more information, you can contact the Infant Risk Center. In the end, it's all about balance. If you're going to have a drink, just remember that your baby is counting on you to ensure they're safe and healthy.

At Milk It Lactation Services LLC, we are driven to help our community and parents with all their parental support needs for their infants. Contact us today to learn more about the services we offer to parents. Also, visit our website, MilkIt505.com, to learn more.