to think doing coke and breastfeeding are incompatible?

[MrsBates]

Well, I know I'm not being unreasonable really but what are your thoughts? Was at a party recently and two mothers who are breastfeeding were taking coke. One says she is a 'bit naughty' to be smoking spliffs in front of her children but at least she and her husband only do it in the garden. One mum did say she is breastfeeding mainly to lose weight. Nice.

I wasn't a saint back in the day but now I have children - no way - and while feeding?! Still I do have too much wine sometimes and think that is sort of OK. Where do your draw your lines (you know the kind) about recreation of the drug kind?

ah right ok, I apologise then for being sharp - wasn't sure.

to go out drinking thou & not having the children is one thing, to do drugs, I personally feel is something totally different. children or not.

Casbie - the children weren't with them when they were at a party taking coke but are at home when they stand in the garden smoking a spliff. They were having a 'night off' but still going home to breastfeed the next day. That was the thing that concerned me. Lots of rastas down my road and our garden is often shrouded in mists of scented smoke - although usually after the children are in bed.

Incidentally does 'partying' mean taking illegal drugs now? I still use it to mean music, fun, drinks - drugs other than alcohol not essential, and even alcohol not essential although it is my drug of choice. Had plenty of late nights and dancing when I was pregnant though and not even doing so much as sniff a bit of unpasteurised cheese.

I agree that having a good time with friends shouldn't end with having children and think we are not always good at mixing the two in England (thinking of children and friends/families out in bars in Spain etc). But feel guilty if I have a puff of a roll-up in case I have just brought forward my demise and deprived the children of a mother for longer than fate alone might allow. So can't mix drugs and children at all for me. Will let you know the response when I talk to the mothers I mentioned. I don't know them well enough to have their numbers but will see them again next month.

I know parents who take coke on a night out. I'm not outraged by it. I think taking drugs or getting rat arsed while breastfeeding is pretty shit behaviour, though.

I think the risk is a key point. You are much more unlikely to die drinking than you are taking drugs (obviously to a certain point, I'm not disputing that a bottle of spirits/turps wouldn't cause serious harm). I have indulged once since I had DC (not whilst BF ) - I was away on a hen and DD was with DH - and I felt a) awful and b) horrifically guilty and knew instantly my days of that were over. I am generally very risk-averse and can't see why I would risk any behaviour that could result in my child(ren, now) being severely negatively impacted. I know for some people the 'benefits' are great enough to outweigh that admittedly small risk. For me they are not.

I think we are all in agreement that BF and snorting cocaine is not a good Idea.

would cause serious harm.

Cote, speed means that you are on a high until possibly 8am the following morning, then you come down and it is far far worse than any hangover you might have possibly experienced.

With a hangover I can still get the kids up, breakfasted and act perfectly normal after a couple of paracetamol. That isn't possible after a downer from coke. How do I know? I have friends who take it and have seen them (childless friends).

So don't compare having a drink with taking illegal drugs.

It seems pointless to bf to give the baby the best possible start in life and end up giving the worst of starts. It is very selfish-a case for bottle feeding.

Rhubarb - I am familiar with the effects of most recreational chemicals, and can assure you that the duration of the effect depends on your intake.

In general, you sleep just fine several hours after your last line/pill/dab whatever.

Notable exception is LSD, after which you have nothing to do with sleep for about 10 hours.

So you don't have to stay up until 8 AM unless you want to. Most people do a couple of lines or half a pill or whatever and go to bed several hours later.

For the record, and for those of us who post without reading the thread, I think it is abhorrent that some women do drugs while breastfeeding. I do think there is nothing anyone can say (including the judgypants among us) if the said women do it once in a blue moon, after having arranged for their kids to spend the weekend at their grandparents, for example.

But Abbey, if there is no info on the dangers of drugs and breastfeeding, how can they know?

We all know that smoking and drinking in pregnancy is harmful because of the huge media campaign to highlight the problem. But where is the drugs campaign? Let's face it, if you do take drugs you are not likely to start looking up the dangers of drugs whilst pregnant or breastfeeding are you. Whereas if they do a media campaign, you won't be able to deny it.

A lot of it isn't ignorance, it's just burying your head in the sand. You know it's probably dangerous but because no-one is saying as much you can pretty much deny it. But if it's on a billboard, on your TV, in your surgery, you have to face it head on.

Cote, I am talking about speed in particular. Which is mainly taken to ensure you can stay up all night partying. And I know from friends that the come-down is particularly bad, so that even if you are awake you daren't get out of your bed.

You simply cannot compare that with having a night out in the pub, which I felt you were doing.

I don't see why they need to give out info, it is obvious that drugs are harmful, they are illegal. I would take the glamour out of them, have them all on prescription and those people who think they are recreational could line up with all the other sad losers to get their fix.

abbey, they give out smoking cessation leaflets and advice to pregnant women, and smoking is legal.

people don;t always know the effects of illegal drugs and breastfeeding ,and it is a taboo subject so it is rarely brought up

more info, more education is the key, not denying access to it

yes, coke and speed on prescription that would work

AbbeyA I hate to say this but you chat shit.

There should be correct information given out about drugs and the problems that it causes to babies when mothers who are PG or BF use them. That way people will have to realise what they are doing is bad 10 years ago it was not so bad to smoke whilst PG now its the worse thing due to media attention and I can guarentee that since the media attention a lot less people smoke whilst pg.

Now if they did the same about drug abuse alot more babies would not be born addicts and a lot more people would reconsider taking drugs whilst pg or whilst BF.

It is unfortunate that people voice opinions on things they have no experience of.

I am very relieved that I have no experience. I should have thought that it was obvious to anyone that drugs damage the body and will be passed on through breast milk. If they were a wonderful health thing they wouldn't be illegal.
It is probably different people posting but I find it very odd that people get so upset about children eating junk food but are quite happy that they should snort chemicals when they are 18!

You are like those who go on anal sex threads and say "I've never done it but it's terrible because I know best" or some such.

I'd prefer to say that I've never tried it so can't say if it's pleasurable or not.

And if you don't see the difference, well, you will go on judging based on your ignorance, I suppose.

AGAIN, for the record: Nobody here has said that it is OK to do drugs while breastfeeding. What I have been saying is that it is OK to do drugs, drink loads, whatever occasionally, as long as you make sure kids are being properly taken care of. Safe and sound at grandparents for the weekend, for example.

While you are NOT breastfeeding, if that wasn't clear.

I agree bobbywickham; when did doing some drugs or getting pissed suddenly becoming 'partying'???!!! Makes me cringe and sets my teeth on edge. Just say I got pissed/I took some whatever. It is that awful euphamism that gets used for american celebs that end up in rehab eg Nicole Ritchie is exhausted from too much partying and is in rehab....read... Nicole Ritchie gets pissed as soon as she wakes up and takes shed loads of speed so is now in rehab. For example. Alledgedly.

it is definitely not obvious

how many threads have been on here about mothers 'pumping and dumping' breastmilk so they can have one glass of wine?

so why would it be obvious re other substances

I am very judgemental and make no apologies for it. If it was harmless why would it be illegal? Unless you are looking forward to celebrating your DCs 18th birthday with a line of coke it isn't a normal, healthy, desirable activity.

"I am very judgemental and make no apologies for it"

So you are aware of this character defect. That is a good thing.

Many things are harmful, the vast majority of which are legal - cigarettes, alcohol, even paracetamol and asprin are harmful above certain doses. The key is moderation, as in all things.

That you cannot think beyond what is 'allowed' (legal) and what is 'forbidden' (illegal) is quite clear. What is surprising is that you actually believe this small minded view of life is actually desirable.

Sex outside of marriage is illegal in some countries. Anal sex is illegal in other places. Just accessing certain websites is illegal in some other countries. Abortion is illegal in quite a few places. So what is your view of life - that if something is illegal than it must be a horrible thing?

This might be hard for you to understand, but quite a few people don't care too much about what is deemed acceptable by the state when they live their own lives, especially when the activity in question has to do with their own bodies and hence nobody else's business.