to think the current NHS guidelines for alcohol and breastfeeding are batshit and not conducive to long term breastfeeding

[lemonadey]

I was at a wedding on Saturday, I took 6m old dd but me and dh decided he would be the one "on shift" and I would have a few drinks as its been a while (dd is a bottle refuser) over the course of the day I drank quite a few glasses of prosecco (I didn't count but by the end of the day it probably amounted to about a bottle) but obviously still bf dd at points and I got pretty fed up of the amount of people quite openly shocked at me breastfeeding and drinking. I do get it, the nhs guidelines are basically the same as if you're pregnant even though the way alcohol transfers to the baby is completely different and the amount of alcohol that enters your breastmilk is negligible.

I just feel it is another way for women to feel like their life is "on hold" while breastfeeding, my mum breastfed me and said she never gave a second thought to what she ate or drank and it was a really enjoyable experience for her, it was part of her life, she never expressed or "pumped and dumped".

I wish more women realised you can still have a social life that includes drinking whilst breastfeeding, the current guidelines are so ridiculously strict and just result in judging from other people and unnecessary guilt for mum.

So tell me, AIBU??

Unless you are alcohol dependent, you can go without alcohol during breastfeeding. No alcohol does not = putting your life on hold.

This.

I also don't like the implication that women would choose not to breastfeed because they'd rather be getting pissed.

And yes, if I saw someone knocking back a bottle of prosecco interspersed with breastfeeding, I'd be a bit too.

You don't need a research committee. There are plenty of alcoholic mothers who breastfed. You could see the effects on their children if they were to be seen, going back to the beginning of time. What about cultures, particularly indigenous (or aboriginal) who have very high levels of alcohol abuse? You don't need to force non alcoholics to drink and drink until they damage their babies

Are you kidding? If you can't stop drinking alcohol to breastfeed you are a problem drinker? How incredibly unknowledgable about alcohol would you have to be to think that?

It sounds like your objection is more to the reaction of other guests, rather than to the NHS guidelines. The current guidelines say this:

"There's some evidence that regularly drinking more than two units of alcohol a day while breastfeeding may affect your baby's development. But an occasional drink is unlikely to harm your breastfed baby."

That would suggest that you're okay to have a drink at a social event like a wedding (though possibly not as much as a whole bottle of wine). I'm not sure how the NHS is being unreasonable or advising women to put their lives on hold by saying they should drink only occasionally when breastfeeding.

Also, there is some evidence that alcohol does have an impact on breastfed babies. For example, the studies linked to in this article show an impact on babies' sleep patterns and amount of milk consumed in a feed, and also suggest that alcohol might reduce a woman's milk supply. Obviously everyone should look at the evidence for themselves and make a decision that they're comfortable with, but it's definitely not the case that there's no evidence that alcohol consumption affects a breastfed baby.

That was supposed to say ie aboriginal not or

Op yanbu. Some People are seizing on one phrase and frankly being a bit hysterical. It's not about whether they don't drink and it's perfectly possible to enjoy and WANT to drink without being dependent. Ffs.

Sorry you were judged at the wedding. People obviously don't know the research posted here which I also discovered recently. I like the quote of just not being so drunk you drop the baby then you're safe!

I didn't drink much with DS1, following NHS guidelines, now with new DS2, knowing the truth I fully intend to enjoy some wine once I finish my antibiotics. Who knows, perhaps it will lead to me bf for longer. New angle from bf promotion perhaps?

This is a good article about it by the way www.telegraph.co.uk/women/health/breastfeeding-mums-rejoice-you-can-drink-alcohol-christmas-or-no/

I think people are getting very excited at the idea of the OP 'knocking back a bottle of prosecco'. At a wedding if you have a welcome drink at 1, a glass with the meal at 4 and the speeches at 6, one for the first dance at around 8 and one last glass at 10, that's more or less a bottle and you would never go over the drink drive limit, never mind have any significant level of alcohol in breast milk.

And obviously I'm not saying someone should drink like that regularly but a wedding is an unusual event.

Exactly. A bottle of wine over the course of 8 hours or so is not a raving alcoholic

YANBU. Good article btw.

Some of the replies on this thread are perfect examples of the weird and puritanical culture we have around women and babies.

Do you really think it would be OK to drive after drinking that much in a day?! Genuine question. I would be at least tipsy.

Thank you! I think it just proves me point though, using phrases like "knocking back" to try and make me sound irresponsible and out of control. I was perfectly in control, I would never do anything to harm my daughter and I'm confident that having a few drinks at a wedding will not have affected her via my milk at all, my husband was sober and I did not co sleep.

I don't really understand what's puritanical about pointing out that research has shown that consuming alcohol while breastfeeding does have an impact on a breastfed baby.

Of course breastfeeding women should look at the evidence for themselves and make up their own minds about whether to consume alcohol and if so at what level, but it doesn't help anyone to completely deny that this evidence exists.

I personally wouldn't drive after that but yes it most likely would be ok. The liver processes a unit of alcohol every hour (in general ). A standard 125ml glass of prosecco has 1.5 units in it. In my example there is at least 2 hours between each glass so the drinkers blood alcohol level would be virtually zero at the start of each drink.

I breast fed both my children until they were 2 years old. I drank in moderation during that time.
4 years of breastfeeding plus 18 months of pregnancies was too long to not enjoy a glass of wine or 2!

Well I suppose you know yourself best OP - I know that a bottle of wine even spread out over a few hours would be too much for me because I'm a lightweight not a regular drinker, I'm sure I would feel drunk and therefore I just wouldn't do it if I was breastfeeding. I agree though that there is no reason to abstain altogether from alcohol whilst BF.

I'll be honest if you think life is on hold because you can't get through a bottle of wine a week while breastfeeding you have bigger problems than guidelines.

The NHS guidelines about lots of things aren't in line with current research though, see their advice on low fat diets filled with artificial sweeteners. La Leche League guidelines are current and rather different to NHS ones.

OP you are right, a few drinks are no problem and the NHS guidelines are based on extreme caution that perhaps doesn't support optimal breastfeeding. Pretty much none of the medical advice/care I have had in the last 5 years (during which I have been either pregnant or breastfeeding or both) has been particularly supportive of normal breastfeeding. Your average HCP knows very little and even where they do the guidelines are not there to support them. It's a crying shame and no wonder normal breastfeeding is so unusual in this country.

YANBU to have a few drinks and breastfeed but don't tie yourself up in knots expecting other people to understand or support your decision. Honestly, I find if you go through life making decisions based on questioning things/logic and weighing up evidence, you are in a minority and most people won't understand it. Don't sweat it and enjoy life with conviction in your own decisions.

Some of the posts on this thread are so facetious.

You are absolutely right OP, if this stuff was better understood, it would make a huge difference to women's lives. Much of the stuff around food in pregnancy needs to be looked at too.

YABU

It's terribly sad if you really believe you cannot have a life without alcohol.

Also, having the odd glass is one thing, but drinking the equivalent of a bottle sounds awfully selfish. I don't believe for a second that mothers should become martyrs and not have a life on their own, you lead by example so kids do need to see independent and happy parents. However, you know that alcohol is harmful for babies and young children, you just chose to ignore it and decide that your social life comes first. What do you want people to say? Congrats on putting yourself first?