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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to breastfeed a 6mo after drinking a bottle of wine?

51 replies

evangelinelily · 09/02/2014 08:32

It was over several hours at an all day event. Wouldn't usually drink this much of a Saturday afternoon. I had planned to give DS expressed milk in a bottle for his feeds after I started drinking, which I did. I didn't really feel inebriated at any point but DH had agreed to be the designated carer of DS for the day and he stayed sober. When we got home I still felt fine to give DS his dinner, do some housework etc. at bedtime, DS didn't want a bottle and just screamed. So I gave him boob. DH and another sober friend were also at home. Once DS was sleeping I stayed up a few more hours, had dinner, watched tv etc.

I have read that you should wait 2hrs per unit before breastfeeding but I have also read that the amount of alcohol in breastmilk is negligible and that you'd have to be totally wasted for it to have any affect. A mantra I read "If you're not too drunk to care for your baby, you're not to drunk to breastfeed." True or not?

OP posts:
Shallishanti · 09/02/2014 12:34

Nobody on this thread is saying that though.
Drinking a whole bottle of wine in an afternoon is bad for the mother's health.
1 bottle of wine would be about 9 units as far as I can see, which is x3 the daily amount recommended for women, and more than half the weekly amount
www.nhs.uk/Livewell/alcohol/Pages/alcohol-units.aspx

Cakesnbeer · 09/02/2014 12:38

Shalli the ways that brassicas can tax our digestive system are well known, those compounds that can cause us to suffer do not travel into our breastmilk so can not trouble our babies.

There is nothing you can't eat as a bf mum unless your baby has a specific protein allergy. And loathe as I am to say that the cabbage really didn't upset your babies it is worth saying so other bf mums aren't unnecessarily restricting their diets. Although that said who'd miss cabbage.

ilovepowerhoop · 09/02/2014 12:39

as a one of it wouldnt be a problem but I wouldnt make a habit of it as it can reduce milk supply and inhibit letdown

ChristineDaae · 09/02/2014 12:43

My DD is 3 days old, midwife came round yesterday and advised don't go mental on caffiene or drink, but normal daily coffees/ a few drinks won't do any harm at all. She said she would be quite happy for a few drinks to be followed by feeding the baby, no need for 2 hour wait etc

BrianTheMole · 09/02/2014 12:43

Its fine as a one off.

Shallishanti · 09/02/2014 12:45

I missed cabbage a lot! try not eating ANY brassicas for 6 months, you soon discover you like them! But as I said, my other dcs weren't affected, so nobody needs to be under a blanket restriction.

I never looked into the biology of it, but the effect was obvious enough for me to not risk repeating it. 2 babies with awful colic at the same time you do tend to notice.

BrianTheMole · 09/02/2014 12:45

I used to drink a glass of wine whilst I was feeding the baby.

Marylou2 · 09/02/2014 13:25

Wish I'd read this when I was breastfeeding.I pumped and dumped for an entire day after one G&T. Had lots of frozen BM though.

lilyaldrin · 09/02/2014 13:30

Eating sprouts can't give your baby wind! How ridiculous.

The amount of alcohol in your blood/milk would have been really low if you're spreading out a bottle over a day. I wouldn't worry.

Seff · 09/02/2014 13:30

Not a problem! At the very worst, it'll help baby to sleep Wink ok, that last bit was a joke.

As for other comments, it's all right saying "as a one off" but I probably wouldn't advise anyone, mother or not, to drink a bottle of wine every day anyway.

paxtecum · 09/02/2014 13:34

Scarlett: Of course you can go to weddings, out to dinner etc whilst breast feeding, I didn't even hint that you couldn't.

Can you not contemplate going out to dinner or to a wedding without drinking a full bottle of wine?

lilyaldrin · 09/02/2014 13:45

A woman weighing around 10 stone is likely to have a blood alcohol content of about 0.2%-0.3% after having 9 drinks. That blood alcohol content is at the loss of consciousness/memory blackouts/lack of motor skill kind of stage.

So even if the OP had downed the bottle in one go and fed her baby immediately, 3-4oz of 0.3% alcohol milk is unlikely to do much harm.

SnowHOHOboarder · 09/02/2014 13:50

I drank regularly whilst BF my DS2. I fed him for 14 months and found that a glass or two of wine and/ or a beer helped relax me. I read up and took the line of thinking that if I was ok to look after the baby I.e not drunk, I was fine to BF. That said I don't think I drank more than one small glass until he was about 6 months.

If I'd had to be totally tee total for the full 14 months I doubt I would have continued so long tbh. Flame away but I have 2 under 3 and a glass of something nice at the end of a long day whilst I read my kindle for half an hour is often the only 'treat' I have to look forward to.

anothernumberone · 09/02/2014 14:14

Pumping and dumping is just done for comfort when feeds are missed to prevent mastitis not to reduce alcohol content in milk but I never pesonally found it a waste of time as I was incredibly prone to blcoked ducts.

motherofallhangovers · 09/02/2014 14:16

"Can you not contemplate going out to dinner or to a wedding without drinking a full bottle of wine?"

Yes I can and I have. But I would rather drink a bottle of wine at a wedding, if appropriate, tb-perfectly-h.

Women do sometimes give up breastfeeding partly because they are fed up of not being able to drink. Missing out on BFing completely is much less beneficial to a baby's long term health than cutting out the odd glass of wine before BFing.

An acquaintance of mine actually told me when DS was 5 months, that I should give up BFing and switch to formula "so you can enjoy a night out" Hmm "Don't be martyr" she told me, "you've done your bit". I nodded and smiled. And carried on feeding DS till he was 4 years old. :)

TheGreatHunt · 09/02/2014 14:21

Noone actually knows all of the science of BM and things passing through from what we eat.

Has the brocolli/cabbage thing been disproven?

My DCs reacted to soya and dairy - soya turned DS's poo bright green (this was at 11 months old when I slipped up) and have dd dreadful silent reflux. Evil stuff. Chilli also caused them problems.

As for alcohol - what exactly is the science behind the whole "you'd need to be hammered for baby to react"?

TheScience · 09/02/2014 14:47

Some drugs and proteins get into breastmilk - so babies would react to medication, soya and cow's milk proteins if allergic etc.

Cabbage/beans gives you wind when the carbohydrates in them are broken down in your intestines releasing gases. Undigested carbohydrates don't get into your bloodstream, then into your milk, then into the baby's stomach and intestines to be broken down releasing gases. The carbs have already been broken down into sugars to get into the bloodstream.

Milk is made from your blood, not your stomach contents - so anything that gets into your milk has already been in your digestive system. The percentage of alcohol in your blood, and therefore milk, if pretty low as your own body/liver filters it - it's not like you are transferring the same strength of alcohol direct into your baby eg. 12% wine does not equal 12% milk.

anothernumberone · 09/02/2014 14:54

The great hunt the 'science' behind the alcohol content is very simple. You drink wine at say 12% per 750mls (say 90mls of pure alcohol) you have 5500mls of blood in your body ergo the concentration of the alcohol is diluted by the volume of blood to 90/5500 = 0.016%. Obviously it depends on the size of the person, the volume of alcohol consumed, the strength of the alcohol etc. Then remember the liver breaks down the alcohol by 1 unit per hour and it takes most people a number of hours to drink a bottle of wine and the amount goes even less. So your 12% intake represents a less that 0.016% baby intake.

ifyourehoppyandyouknowit · 09/02/2014 15:00

If you want to see some figures on how much is actually in the milk, this is a good blog

www.biologybrain-simonsays.blogspot.co.uk/2008/12/alcohol-content-of-breast-milk.html?m=1

Original poster
evangelinelily · 09/02/2014 15:05

Thank you for all your replies. Very interesting to hear.

I don't drink a bottle of wine everyday, it was a special occasion. And yes, I did feel the effects but I wasn't falling over, blackouts, vomiting or anything like that. I knew that I was gonna totally let my hair down for that day so DH and I agreed that he was going to be the sober parent and the baby would have expressed milk (although he had other ideas).

I know a bottle of wine sounds like a lot but when you think of it, it's the same as 3 large glasses (250ml) or about the same as 4 small (175ml) glasses. I don't think it's uncommon or unusual for some people to easily drink 4 glasses of wine throughout the whole day at a wedding or a similar occasion such as New Year or a birthday party, BBQ etc. Just when I add in the breastfeeding part I guess it doesn't sound so good.... and I just wondered what others thought as there's a lot of conflicting info on "official" advice sites.

Thanks all.

OP posts:
WillowB · 09/02/2014 15:18

paxtecum just curious but did your milk come in straight away after your c section? I could only express the teensiest bit of colostrum for about 4 days. Also had the morphine injections & DS did not sleep at all!! I refused all painkillers but the nurses tried to persuade me otherwise & said they wouldn't affect BF

SomewhatSilly · 09/02/2014 15:24

Great explanation, TheScience. And a very appropriate nn!

I've done this, and will surely do it again.

Original poster
evangelinelily · 09/02/2014 15:32

Motherofallhangovers, I like the drinking blood example. Makes sense. Hopalongon thanks for the link to the blog!

OP posts:
coolcookie · 09/02/2014 19:44

Fgs. Op had a bottle of wine as a one off with a meal. Only a tiny % reaches the milk. Op your baby will be fine and you did nothing wrong.

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