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Infant feeding

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Original poster

Drinking alcohol - while breast feeding - what are your thoughts?

56 replies

Flumpreviouslybutwhatdoiknow · 30/09/2004 10:16

I used to drink loads.

Got pregnant - had the odd glass of wine but v. little.

Fully breast fed but now baby weaning just do morning and evening b feed as I work full time.

I also drink a bit at weekends and have a glass or two of wine in the week.

What do you think? Baby seems to be thriving but...............

is it bad?

OP posts:
cazzybabs · 30/09/2004 10:19

Well I drank more than I should when I was bf dd and she seems fine!! I think you are "allowed" one unit a day. My sil used to express and bin the milk after she had been drinking.

I guess it depends on your views on such things - but I thought a little bit of alchol on the breast milk was better than no breast milk at all!

acnebride · 30/09/2004 10:29

I'd agree with cazzybabs. alcohol is natural plant-based extract
But nobody's going to think you're too fussy if you do decide to stop completely for a bit.

Pidge · 30/09/2004 10:36

I regularly (3-5 times per week) had 1-2 units of alcohol during my 2 years of breastfeeding dd. During the week when I was working it would be just one glass, then at weekends maybe 2-3 glasses.

I had very little in her first 6 months (due to complete exhaustion!).

Mostly I drank in the evening after she had gone to bed and from 6 months on she would sleep through till 7am so I think most of the alcohol had left my system by then anyway.

Original poster
Flumpreviouslybutwhatdoiknow · 30/09/2004 10:42

Pidge - I thik my pattern is bit like yours was.

I probably understated for fear of wrath of 'babies so delicate blah blah blah'

I love b'feeding and it is so easy, but I love drinking toooooo.

Now she mostly sleeps all night and I try to wait for glass of wine till after fed her at 8pm.

But usually gagging for a drink after work - hee hee.

I figured breastfeeding was such an almighty good - or so they reckon that it was ok.

OP posts:
Pidge · 30/09/2004 10:50

Flump... totally agree ... the end of my working day wouldn't be complete without a celebratory glass of vino! And I do think there's a big difference between drinking with an older baby who's going to sleep for hours before the next feed, and drinking when they're really tiny and demanding milk every 2 hours.

Sadly I'm off the wine again, as I'm 4 months pregnant and have totally gone off the stuff! But am looking forward to resuming my tippling habits some time next year.

Original poster
Flumpreviouslybutwhatdoiknow · 30/09/2004 11:07

oOOOH another baby, am jealous. except don't want to give up drinking again - ha ha, aI asound like a right alky don't i.

but really we have to get hitched first before anothre bambino, then we will attempt to re-breed

OP posts:
woodstock · 30/09/2004 11:13

I've decided to believe the theory that little alcohol gets into the BM so, unless you're really off on a binge, not to worry. I looove my little glass (or two) in the evening.

Of course, I weaned ds last week, so now don't have to worry . It's a hard habit to break though. er, that is, the worrying about it, not the drinking. LOL

006 · 30/09/2004 11:31

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
Flumpreviouslybutwhatdoiknow · 30/09/2004 11:49

yeah , my dd is the most chilled out baby I've met, could just be in a drunken slump I spose

OP posts:
suzywong · 30/09/2004 11:51

Well I've just finished my first glass of red for the evening and I'm going to find 12 month old DS2 for his nighttime BF.

Chilled flavanoid/seratonin filled mum=happy baby

Fennel · 30/09/2004 11:53

last week I checked out the rules for donating breast milk to premature baby units and their rule was not to be drinking on average more than two units a day while donating milk.
if it's safe at that level for premmies it must be ok.

Fennel · 30/09/2004 11:54

006 - now it's winter you can dress the baby in burgandy and wine coloured babygros then it doens't show

suzywong · 30/09/2004 11:54

well after that piece of good news fennel all I can say is 'Waiter, another bottle over here please"

Marina · 30/09/2004 11:55

Also b/f for nearly two years first time round, did not get much chance for social drinking initially, cheerfully had up to about 4-5 units a week thereafter. But have to admit never more than 1-2 at any one time. Did limit myself in that regard, tbh.

tiktok · 30/09/2004 12:32

There's loads in the archives on this - almost all of it reassuring

motherinferior · 30/09/2004 12:41

I thought excitedly 'wow, SW prepares for being stoned, what a superwoman', before realising what she meant

Drank a fair bit on various b/fing occasions. Only way to survive a small baby IMO.

Hic!

Skara · 30/09/2004 13:29

as I've been pregnant or breastfeeding for the last 5 years, I'd have been locked up by now if I couldn't have a gin or three in the evening! I tend to go off alcohol when pregnant as it makes me feel a bit sick and don't drink too much when the baby is tiny in case I squash it in bed, but now he's 4 months and I have a drink of something (generally red wine or a gin and tonic) most nights...it's the only way I can cope with 3 children

cellulitequeen · 30/09/2004 13:34

Another vote for boozing and BF. DS thrived on my BM and the booze kept me sane.

MrsDoolittle · 30/09/2004 13:34

Gosh, I hope so, I've been making up for lost time since dd was born. I couldn't drink atall when I was pregnant as I couldn't stand the taste of alcohol.

Branster · 30/09/2004 13:38

with the view that anything you put in your mouth would eventually end up in the breast milk, it's probably not ideal. don't feel guilty about it though. it all depends on local culture as well. in some coutries is absolutely OK to have a glass of wine others are really against any kind of alcohol whilst bf. i personally never drank (well apart from 1 glass of champagne if i add small sips at different parties) whilst pregnant or bfing, mainly because i didn't like the taste anymore.

Rowlers · 30/09/2004 13:40

Me too MrsD. Didn't even consider it might be a problem (baaad mum).

pixiefish · 30/09/2004 13:42

Personally I haven't touched it since before I got pg. Don't need it enough for it to bother me going without it. But then again I don't eat or drink a lot of things that wouldn't be good for my dd... but that's my personal preference...
Don't know how true this is but when the kids at school found out I was pg one of the kids who's in care came up to me and this was the conversation:
'you won't drink while you're pg will you miss?'
'of course not little timmy'
'cos that's why I'm slow you know, cos my mummy drank when she was expecting me'

Now, not wanting to scare anyone and bearing in mind the kid's mother is an alcoholic this was enough to make me never want to drink again and definetly not whilst pg or bf. (i probably will have a drink after i stop bf )

jamiesam · 30/09/2004 13:42

My HV took the very relaxed view that one or two glasses of wine wouldn't do my ds's any harm. Always struggled a bit with the timing when they were young though - ds2 in particular liked to graze all evening, so I think I probably did on occasion have a sip of wine while actually bf!

suzywong · 30/09/2004 13:45

that is very galvanising pixiefish
Hopefully all of us posting on this so far that like to drink and bf are balanced enough not to take it to extremes.

Apart from that absolute lush MI

aloha · 30/09/2004 13:46

Just a word of reassurance it is IMPOSSIBLE to cause foetal alcohol syndrome after birth!! IMPOSSIBLE. Like you can't cause spina bifida after birth. In fact, 70% of alcoholics have babies unaffected by FAS. And it occurs early in pregnancy. If you don't want to drink while breastfeeding, don't drink, but there is no evidence that it causes any harm and it certainly cannot cause FAS.