Can you drink alcohol while breastfeeding?

I’ve heard different things from different breastfeeding counselors and I just wanna know what’s the best way to drink alcohol while breastfeeding? I’m not trying to get crazy I just want a glass or 2 of wine some evenings that’s all. Do I pump and dump? Does the baby feel what I feel and just wait for the buzz to go away? What’s your suggestions?

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I personally would not at all but never ever pump and dump. Boob milk is good for SO many things.

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I always pumped and dumped but felt like such a waste :tired_face:
My friends just told me recently that you don’t have to pump and dump at all. That liquor doesn’t get into the milk

Check out what Dr. Jack Newman has to say about alcohol and breastfeeding. Spoiler alert-he says it’s fine.

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I’ve heard after baby is 3months old as long as you feel that you can still safely hold and feed your baby everything is fine. If you stick to the one drink an hour rule you’ll be just fine.

If you do get crazy :crazy_face: and can’t feed baby but need to pump for relief save it for milk baths!!

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Dont pump n dump. You n baby will be just fine

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It has been scientifically proven that even if you drink enough to die of alcohol poisoning there is hardly any passed to baby! But the general rule is “if you can drive you can feed” and wait 1-3 hours once being intoxicated after your last drink, timing depends on how strong the drink was!

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My babies dr told me that it was safe to drink light things wine beer wine coolers for every one i had to wait an hour to feed baby it passes through breast milk at the same rate as through bloodstream

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Dont pump and dump. It sill leave your system within a reasonable amount of time. The amount that even gets in your breast milk from a couple drinks is equal to the amount that’s in orange juice.

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U can simply buy a test from target or some pharmacies. It screens your milk… like a pregnancy test… but it tests for alcohol in the milk. It will read positive or negative. For me personally I’d enjoy wine… wait a few hours after then breastfeed. I would pump prior to drinking to have some reserved for baby while I waited for my milk to clear up

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I was told to wait 2 hours to nurse after alcohol as it will metabolize out.

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I was told if your ok to drive your ok to feed? Not sure how true

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I’ve always been told if you’re sober enough to drive you can feed.

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Wine and beer actually help increase breast milk production. that’s what I’ve been told by my OB and Midwife. If you want to be extra safe, you can pump and dump. Or you can buy alcohol test strips. :slight_smile: relax. Enjoy.

I’ve had wine with meals and nursed fine. The general rule of thumb is if you’re tipsy at the time of feed, you shouldn’t feed that milk. The content is similar to that of the blood–which will dissipate on its own. If you feel sober, you can feed that milk.

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NEVER DUMP! Save your milk if you ever can’t nurse for some reason. Use it for baths, rashes, dry skin, anything like that. But as long as you can safely hold the baby, you’re fine to nurse!!

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You will find lots of people will very different opinions on this one. I’ve read research that says mom can get bombed and the amount of alcohol in her breast milk would be equal to throwing a thimble full into a pool. Sure, it there, but is it going to do harm? That’s a question only the mom can answer. The real risk with drinking and nursing is actually falling asleep and smothering your baby or dropping them because you’re unstable.

If you can drive, you can feed.

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No need to pump and dump unless you’re feeling engorged. Same rules for driving, wait one hour per standard drink!

Start pumping before you drink and freeze it if you’re worried. So that the the alcohol will work itself out. That way you dont have to worry. If you’re okay with using a bottle. If not, in all actuality, you will be fine with a glass of wine or two.

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If you don’t feel buzzed you can still feed and only pump and dump if your supply will go down if you were to skip a feeding, I believe it’s 2 hours per drink you wait then it should be out of your system and can feed again.

If you are good to drive you can breastfeeding

Alcohol goes through breast milk the same as blood. Once it’s out of the blood stream, it’s out of the milk. You don’t need to pump and dump, just wait 1 hour per drink.

I’ve had 1-2 glasses of wine AND felt a little tipsey (I don’t drink often) and still nursed :woman_shrugging:t2: my biggest concern is someone co sleeping while tipsy because in most cases that’s what a breastfeeding mom does.

For just a glass or two you dont need to do anything. Even getting fall down wasted, not enough alcohol gets in your milk to affect baby. Drink away! The only time you need to pump is if youre going to be away from baby, but its to maintain supply, not remove alcohol.

They have strips you can put in breast milk that will read the alcohol level.

2hrs is the guidelines

https://goo.gl/search/guidelines+for+drinking+and+breastfeeding
Alcohol | Breastfeeding | CDC Generally, moderate alcohol consumption by a breastfeeding mother (up to 1 standard drink per day) is not known to be harmful to the infant, especially if the mother waits at least 2 hours after a single drink before nursing.

After reading all these comments im a tad confused of all the milk time and effort I may have wasted… that being said my baby will be 4 months on the 2nd and I have drank a handful of times and have always pumped and dumped… i supplied the baby with either previously pumped milk or even formula
( I never got wasted just moderately buzzed) also I followed the picture below on how long I couldn’t feed for

Don’t drink or don’t breastfeed :woman_shrugging: the baby will feel the effects even if you don’t.

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Treatment you should discuss with your doctor they would be the best person to advise you

If you can drive you can nurse

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No need to pump and dump. If you can drive, you can breastfeed.

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I think if you want to drink you should not breastfeed. Period. If you can’t give up alcohol while breastfeeding then there is a problem.

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For all the people saying her child should be more important than having a drink or if she can’t give up drinking while breastfeeding then she’s got a problem…get TF over yourself! She’s not asking if she can chug a 40 or drink a fifth of vodka every freaking night! She wants to enjoy a glass of wine or a beer every now and then, jeez! If you didn’t drink while you breastfed then good for you, that was your personal decision. Don’t make her out to be an alcoholic who doesn’t care about her child.

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U can get testing strips for breast milk at shoppers drug mart

Drinking is fine BUT you must wait for the alcohol to leave your breastmilk. Rule of thumb is to wait around 2 hours per drink.

Also, if you need to pump before the 2h per drink rule, you may need to pump and dump (or keep for milk baths) at feeding times (and feed baby previously pumped breast milk instead) until enough time has passed for the substance to be out of your system. In most cases — like with alcohol — you aren’t pumping to remove the “bad” milk. You’re pumping to maintain your supply and prevent engorgement while you wait for the bad stuff to leave your body.

Notes about the chart:
Time from beginning of drinking until clearance of alcohol from breast milk for women of various body weights: Assuming alcohol metabolism is constant at 15 mg/dL & woman is of average height (5’4").

*1 drink = 340 g (12 oz) of 5% beer, or 141.75 g (5 oz) of 11% wine, or 42.53 g (1.5 oz) of 40% liquor.

Example 1: For a 90-lb woman who consumed three drinks in 1 hour, it would take 8 hours, 30 minutes for there to be no alcohol in her breast milk, but for a 210-lb woman drinking the same amount, it would take 5 hours, 33 minutes.

Example 2: For a 140-lb woman drinking four beers starting at 8:00 pm, it would take 9 hours, 17 minutes for there to be no alcohol in her breast milk (until 5:17 am).

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Pumping and dumping is only necessary if you need to keep up a schedule. It doesn’t clear out the alcohol. But alcohol metabolizes out of breast milk as quickly as it leaves your blood. So if you can safely drive, you can safely breastfeed. If you only plan on having a couple glasses of wine, feed baby before you start drinking and just wait the time out. Usually, a small enough amount of alcohol will leave your system within the time frame between feeds. If you want to be extra sure, there are test strips you can buy from the store (I’ve seen them at target) that can check for alcohol in the milk.

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If you can drive, you can feed. Don’t pump and dump ever

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it will go through the milk. i wouldn’t feed bub after drinking… pump before and use a bottle…
while drinking id pump n dump

Just to be on the safe side I would pump and dump one feeding if I wanted to have a drink but never got drunk so I could still care for my baby

Straight from CDC website, pump enough for baby before hand just incase if you can. One drink means you should wait two hours before breast feeding again.

The most consistent advice I’ve seen says that you should wait until just after a feed, when you know it will be several hours until the next feed and that 1 drink occasionally won’t hurt. The amount passed on is negligible in that case.

Alcohol breaks down in breastmilk just like it does in blood, so if you only had 1 drink and you don’t feed for several hours, it should have left your system but any possible remaining traces are small.

Pump before you drink so that you can have breast milk on hand

I heard one beer you cant nurse for 2 hours idk if its true tho

A glass of wine isn’t going to hurt, a bottle might cause issues. Hell when I had my first son my MIL who worked in Maternity (granted it was in the 70s) was trying to get me to drink a glass of stout beer each night, because it brings in your milk lol. Advice is going to vary because they haven’t done extensive testing on what is safe. Also be aware of measuring out standard drinks so you know how long you need to metabolize the alcohol.

Idk my breastfeeding consultant at the hospital i gave birth at told me glass a wine a day is actually good for your milk production :woman_shrugging: nothing worked out for me tho :cry: we worked on breastfeeding while i was there and some after but i cant seem produce milk right. I didnt even have colostrum , leaking or nothing with any of my kids.

Have a drink or two just dont get drunk x

Have a drink or two don’t worry!! :blush: xx babes will be okay.

Doreen, what say you?

Nope, no need to pump & dump!
safe to drive, safe to feed.