Alcohol and Breastfeeding

[BrookeandTaylorsmummy]

How does alcohol affect breastfeeding? and how long does alcohol take to get out of the system? this has probably been done before but I'm newish!thank you

[fisil]

Well, I just didn't really want to drink.

However, the evening after we got home from hospital we had a bottle of bubbly. I fed ds1 shortly afterwards and within 20 minutes he threw up grandly - projectile, right across the room. When the midwife came the next morning I confessed to having dragged my baby into the gutter with me, and she said that if I'd drunk carbonated water it would have had the same effect - it was the bubbles, not the alcohol that did it! She didn't seem to be fussed - and this was a 24 hour old baby!

[BrookeandTaylorsmummy]

Thank you, I've just realised the time and me asking about alcohol at this hour may seem a bit odd but I have been up since 4.30am! The reason I ask is because I haven't been out in over 2 years because I have been pregnant with dd and bf her then when she was 5 moths I fell pregnant with ds who is now 6.5 months and I am still bf him and I was too scared to drink anything slightly alcoholic incase something horriic happened!am I being a bit OTT?

[DetentionGrrrl]

I have drunk and breastfed many times since my son was born. The most i've had is 2 or 3 units- no effect on said child (vomiting, wind etc) He's been prefectly happy. If i have got drunk on a night out though, i make sure there is stored milk for him- but that's mostly because being drunk and taking care of a 8 week old isn't advisable!

[MumofIsaac]

I drank a little while bf-ing. I think they say it takes an hour per unit to leave the body. I used this as a rough guide and DS was always fine.

[kiskidee]

i had a very pleasant long lunch not too long ago with 2 or 3 glasses of wine while dd slept and bf in my arms the whole time in a little restaurant called the New Angel. she woke up quite perky and pleasant 2 hrs later, no harm done. it was her mid day naptime so double my points for multitasking!

[Quootiepie]

I was told by midwife to wait 10 hours I think to get it out of your system (if more than 2-3 units), and have read your allowed about 2-3 units.

[Mum2FunkyDude]

I was told not to feed in 4 hours after drinking, but after that its fine?

[katesa]

Also read that 4 hours is about right and was from La Leche League book so must be right ;) I have at least one glass of wine in the evening and ds2 is 5 months and still b/feeds loads. Would agree that about 2-3 units is probably ok but depends on how how feel - if you get drunk on 1 (like I did after a long period of abstinence) then better to get someone else to look after baby.

[BrookeandTaylorsmummy]

Thankyou, I may be going out in the evening for my birthday next week and was just checking it would be ok, ds sleeps through the night so the four hour thing should be ok, thank you all again