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Understanding how lifestyle choices, such as drinking, can affect your child can be confusing. Many breastfeeding mothers wonder if it is safe to drink and how it will affect breast milk and their baby. Let’s get into the facts, it’s Courtney from Mama Linc. Courtney is a mother of three, IBCLC, registered nurse and sleep therapist.
When a woman drinks one regular drink, a small amount of the alcohol enters her breast. Education they say that about 2% of the alcohol you drink ends up in milk. This amount can be affected by a number of factors, including the amount of alcohol consumed, the woman’s body weight, the amount of fat in her body, and whether she has eaten. It is also important to remember that this refers to a standard drink, which is approximately 100ml of wine or one 330ml bottle of beer (depending on strength).
Courtney explains, while there is a lot of conflicting information on the topic the CDC is talking about “Excessive alcohol consumption by a nursing mother (up to 1 drink per day) is not known to be harmful to the baby, especially if the mother waits at least two hours after drinking a regular drink before breastfeeding.”
Beer peak and license
When a nursing mother drinks alcohol, it is important to understand how alcohol gets into the blood and breast milk. In most cases, alcohol peaks within 30 minutes to an hour after drinking.
Since alcohol increases and blood and breast milk levels decrease, mothers plan their breastfeeding time. Alcohol is metabolized at a rate of about 2 hours for a regular drink, but this rate can be faster or slower depending on factors such as health, liver function, and whether the alcohol was consumed with food.
Australian Breastfeeding Association [ABA] They say to reduce the amount of alcohol that is given to the baby through breast milk, mothers can consider breastfeeding before drinking or waiting 2-3 hours for a drink before the next session of breastfeeding. This process allows time for the alcohol to dissolve and be removed from the blood and, therefore, breast milk. Courtney shares It also helps to remember that when alcohol leaves the bloodstream, it also leaves breast milk.”
Pumping and dumping: A myth
There is a common misconception that pumping and expressing breast milk after drinking alcohol can speed up the removal of alcohol from the milk. However, this is not the case. Alcohol does not accumulate in breast milk; it leaves milk when it leaves blood. So, when the blood alcohol level returns to normal, so does the milk alcohol level. At this point Courtney points out that: “Breast milk should not be thrown away, it is always used for your milk even if you can’t feed your baby. You may need to pump to keep drinking but you can just save the milk for bathing.”
The effect of alcohol on milk production
The belief that drinking dark beer, such as Guinness, can increase milk production is a long-standing belief that often passes down generations. The idea comes from the ingredients used in this beer, especially barley. However, it is important to understand that this is a medicine that is calculated more than scientifically proven facts. Although barley and other components of beer can be lactogenic, the content of beer distorts the picture.
Alcohol, regardless of how it is consumed, has been shown to decrease milk production. Studies have shown that alcohol can inhibit lactation when consumed in excess, which is very important for successful breastfeeding.
Safe feed program
For women looking for advice, a Feed Safe Programproduced by the Australian Breastfeeding Association in collaboration with researchers, provides important information. It helps calculate the time it takes for alcohol to leave breast milk, providing a personalized and helpful tool for breastfeeding mothers who choose to drink alcohol.