…to feed my DD after this?

[MyBoldFinch]

I have a 9-month-old DD who is breastfed. Since she’s been born, I’ve occasionally gone out for a couple of drinks with friends or had a couple of drinks at home with my husband. I’ve always tried to follow NHS guidance by waiting the allocated number of hours before feeding her again.

However, as time has gone on and she’s become more wakeful, she tends to feed quite frequently throughout the night. So when I have had a couple drinks she often wakes and wants to feed before the right amount of time has passed (according to the NHS) to do so. What I’ve tended to do the last couple of times is hold her, cuddle her and try to soothe her until enough time has passed for the alcohol to clear from my breast milk.

The problem is that she doesn’t settle very easily this way anymore. She is used to being settled by breastfeeding, so she’ll cry and cry until I can feed her again. It’s horrible for her, and horrible for me and my husband too.

My husband’s view is that I should just feed her rather than worrying so much about the amount of alcohol in the milk as it will be negligible. I have friends who do this with no worries but I’m struggling to know if this is the right thing and feel very guilty about the idea of it because of the NHS guidance.

I don’t drink heavily. It would only ever be two medium glasses of wine at a time a couple times a month. I’m new to the area I live in, keen to make friends and a lot of the social activities I’m invited to involve alcohol.

But I also don’t want to cause any harm
to my beautiful baby.

So what’s the general feeling on this? Is it ok?

The alcohol doesn’t go straight into your breast milk
the amount you’re describing is absolutely fine
if you were paralytic that’s different and I wouldn’t feed

I always fed despite drinking. The science is very clear about the amount that passes through (negligible). I’m 2 years into BF and son is thriving.

I was given the advice of if you can find the baby you are safe to feed.

I didn’t drink when I was breastfeeding, but you have followed guidelines so far, I wouldn’t be comfortable going against that guidance. Can you pump so you have a supply for when you drink?

If you’re worried, pump before drinking so there is expressed milk ready to go.

Breastmilk is made from the blood, not stomach contents so the amount that is found in breastmilk from light alcohol intake will be low. You can buy alcohol testing strips to test your breastmilk if you’re worried too. Available on Amazon.

At NCT classes we were told you would have to drink something like 12 pints (could have been more actually), for the baby to be slightly affected (as in trace amounts passed through the milk). They said to imagine that your milk is an Olympic sized swimming pool and it’s like chucking a glass of wine into that. Basically you’d have to be paralytically drunk for it to have even the slightest effect on your child.

Stop drinking. I'm concerned that drinking is so important to you you don't have to be drinking from bottles under the sink to have a problem with alcohol.

I run a breastfeeding support group (but to be clear I am a volunteer and not a professional)... In our training it was made very clear that the amount of alcohol that ends up in your milk is negligible and that if you were sober enough to hold your baby confidently and safely, it is safe to feed the baby. Much more important that you do not cosleep if you have been drinking.

However, I have always been like you and opted to wait. Or I would pump before drinking and my DH would feed the bottle. Tbh I just rarely drank as I coslept and fed throughout the night so I just couldn't be bothered.

Could you not buy some cartons of formula to feed to your baby in instances such as these?

I don’t want to come across as judgy but when I was breastfeeding I just didn’t really drink alcohol at all - can you not cut down to one glass a night for a few months?

It's such a negligible amount, no need to worry.

How often are you drinking that this is such a big problem?

Absolutely fine, feed away

I always pump beforehand but she never will take it

She won’t take a bottle unfortunately

If you're worried about the alcohol drink orange juice, or similar. No-one should need alcohol to have a good time with friends.

I don’t drink every day. 2 glasses of wine about once or twice a month.

Two glasses of wine about once or twice a month.

Totally unnecessary to do this OP

What gives you this impression from what I said? Because I asked the question?

Just feed her! Alcohol doesn't flow straight into your breastmilk. A ripe banana contains more alcohol than your breastmilk does after 1 drink. Do bear in mind that all NHS advice is very black and white, in this instance, the guidance is more intended for baby's safety, eg, a parent shouldn't be getting very drunk whilst responsible for their child (and obv you wouldn't to BF if you'd drunk a lot). I often had 2 drinks and BF, and my child is perfectly healthy, healthier than majority I know. Look at Emma Pickett on Instagram for good BF advice.

Isn’t breast milk the same alcohol % as your blood? The legal limit for driving would put your blood at 0.08% alcohol, which is completely negligible.

And I don’t drink at all, so this isn’t me being defensive about my own decisions!

Ah! My 2nd born was like this, from the source or not at all. Weirdly drinks from an open cup or sippy cup though!

I felt a bit tipsy the other night and DC2 (11 months old) woke up. DH settled him instead, but it did take longer, as he wanted to comfort feed, but I felt like if I could feel the alcohol impacting me, it would be in my breastmilk.

Those testing strips are brilliant though. Provides a lot of reassurance. There’s only been one time that alcohol has been at detectable levels (our wedding anniversary) and my mum was able to cup feed him expressed milk. Bit messy and a faff at night, I know!

No, there is far less alcohol % in your breastmilk. Breastmilk is created from blood but it is condensed down hugely!

I always thought the main concern about breastfeeding and drinking was being too drunk to hold the baby safely. 1-2 glasses of wine will hardly affect your milk! All guidelines have to draw a line somewhere, and you have to make a judgement about following them. I’d read expecting better by Emily Oster for a reality check on how mad the policing of women is during pregnancy and post partum.