Wine and breastfeeding

[Braddles1982]

Hi there,

I have a 10 week old baby and I'm going to a wedding this weekend and whilst he will be with us during the day, I am leaving him with my mum for a few hours in the evening. This will be the first time I have left him. I'm hoping to have a few glasses of wine after his last feed (usually between 7 & 8pm), to be cautious lets say 3 large glasses over the evening. Will I be safe to bf him when he wakes at 5am? He goes this long during the night so this will be his first feed. Thanks in advance!

You will be fine. The biggest risk to babies when mothers drink and feed in this occasional way is that they might drop them! Alcohol in milk works like alcohol in your blood stream, it will slowly leave your system over time. If you're used to leaving it this long between feeds, then you should be fine. Have a good time!

Alcohol in breast milk is the same as blood so 1 glass of wine will take 2-3 hours to come out of your system so 3 glasses could take 6-9 hours x

You'll definitely be fine to have a drink (I do and I'm breastfeeding) but three large glasses is a whole bottle..! Perhaps you should express some milk for the 5am feed - he might wake earlier or be unsettled if this is the first time you've left him.

You will be fine. You will probably find you don't want a huge amount of wine if you haven't drunk for a few months. One bottle of wine is 10 units, and remember the body starts breaking down the alcohol as soon as you start drinking, so you need to leave 10 hours from the first sip, not 10 hours from the last sip. The hour is a rough guideline as well - some people break down one unit of alcohol more quickly, some more slowly - you will know your own body best.

Do the usual sensible things like having a soft drink in between glasses of wine, and putting your glass down when you're not drinking, and enjoy yourself and relax.

Thanks everyone, I appreciate the advice. Just want to be safe, I know I'm not likely to drink that much! Those days are behind me I guess!