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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

alcohol and breastfeeding...

31 replies

mum2b09 · 11/05/2009 15:05

I was wondering how much milk i would have to express if i ever wanted to go out for a drink whilst i was bfing...

How many hours after drinking can you nurse again?

How many units can i have?

Is it true that you dot have to pump & dump?

x

OP posts:
StealthPolarBear · 11/05/2009 15:12

How old is your baby?
I personally would have 2 or 3 drinks (and I probably mean alcohol units) after about 6 months. I wouldn't plan to feed straight after, but if I had to, I would. Before 6 months I'd probably stick to 1, 2 every now and again.
In general, it's accepted that it's fine to drink and bf, but the alcohol does pass through into your milk (as with anything else) so it's your decision.

StealthPolarBear · 11/05/2009 15:13

Just to clarify, I drink when pg but am obsessed by units and compensate for strong wine by having very small measures iyswim. When bf I'm a lot more relaxed.

CherryChoc · 11/05/2009 15:16

Alcohol leaves your milk as it leaves your body - so you don't need to "pump and dump" to get rid of the alcoholic milk - it doesn't work like that. Your breasts don't store milk for the next feed, it's made on demand.

They don't really know how much alcohol goes into breastmilk and how much of an effect it has. A rough rule of thumb is that it takes 1 hour for every unit to leave your system, and the official guidelines say you can nurse after having drunk 2-3 units (I think).

LeninGrad · 11/05/2009 15:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
mum2b09 · 11/05/2009 15:20

so if i went out and had a fe drinks and waited till the nextday lets say about 12 hours after drinking all the alcohol would be out of my system i wouldt have to wait days or anything?

OP posts:
StealthPolarBear · 11/05/2009 15:42

12 hours! I would imagine that would be fine for any amount.

CherryChoc · 11/05/2009 15:49

Oh definitely - if you're sober enough to drive, you can definitely bf. If you choose to bf before that point that is up to you - there isn't enough research for a definite answer to that one

BigBellasBeerBelly · 11/05/2009 15:52

I think the idea is that the milk is the same alcohol content as your blood. So if you have a pint, it's not like giving the baby the pint, it's giving the baby a drink as strong as that much alcohol diluted in your blood.

ie not very strong at all.

from what I have read they seem to suggest that the danger from nursing a baby when you've had a fair bit to drink is from dropping it/passing out or whatever rather than from the milk.

Disclaimer: This is from bits on the internet I'm not an expert!

FWIW I personally felt happy to drink freely in the evenings from when DD was sleeping through the night.

Jackstini · 11/05/2009 15:56

This might give you a bit more info www.llli.org/FAQ/alcohol.html

FromGirders · 11/05/2009 15:57

Copied from www.kellymom.com

"In general, if you are sober enough to drive, you are sober enough to breastfeed. Less than 2% of the alcohol consumed by the mother reaches her blood and milk. Alcohol peaks in mom's blood and milk approximately 1/2-1 hour after drinking (but there is considerable variation from person to person, depending upon how much food was eaten in the same time period, mom's body weight and percentage of body fat, etc.). Alcohol does not accumulate in breastmilk, but leaves the milk as it leaves the blood; so when your blood alcohol levels are back down, so are your milk alcohol levels."

Kellymom is all backed up with proper research and is referenced. Lots of links to scientific backup on this page. Including a bit on how alcohol can inhibit your let-down a bit.

Original poster
mum2b09 · 11/05/2009 16:01

thanx girls think i will just express and store my milk so i can leave it at least 12 hrs just 2 b sure x

OP posts:
FromGirders · 11/05/2009 16:01

Just to put it in context, the legal limit for driving is 80 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 milliletres of blood - I make that to be 0.8% of alcohol in your blood. So even if you'd had a few drinks and weren't safe to drive, you'd still only be feeding baby a liquid that contained 0.8% alcohol, which is a pretty far cry from drinking wine at 8 - 12% alcohol, iyswim.
However, having said that, I wouldn't want to drink so much that I had problems staying awake, or that I had a hangover the next morning! Personally the thought of a hangover and a small baby is enough to make me pretty mcuh teetotal!

BigBellasBeerBelly · 11/05/2009 16:02

That stuff on the LLL website is a bit random.

The bloke in the last extract keeps switching between units for no apparent reason then suddnly starts talking about ounces (ie a totally different scale of measurement) right at the end!

FromGirders · 11/05/2009 16:02

Sounds fine. Remember you may need to express a bit during that 12 hours just to keep yourself comfortable - you don't want to to getting engorged!

StealthPolarBear · 11/05/2009 16:03

Yes, I agree. I've never cut down what I drink because of bf, knowing I'll have to get up in the night and might only have 4 hours sleep is enough to send me to bed with a hot chocolate

Alibabaandthe40nappies · 11/05/2009 16:12

Now that DS sleeps reliably until at least 2am from a 7:30pm bedtime I don't worry about what I have to drink in the evening. On Friday night it was my birthday and I did have a fair amount over the evening but I had stopped before midnight and it was 4am before he woke up, even if he had woken at 2am then the odd occasion won't matter. Until he was 6 months I was very careful to not have more than 1-2 units.

The only problem I've ever had is around let down, even one glass of wine really inhibits mine. Not a problem now that DS is old enough to persevere (he is 9.5 months), but when he was little it used to frustrate him and we would end up with half an hour of screaming so I would only have a drink immediately after a feed so as to leave maximum time before I needed to feed again.

BigBellasBeerBelly · 11/05/2009 17:04

at visions of all these mums at home with their feet up, glass of wine in one hand and BF baby in the other!

That's what I intend to be doing in a couple of months anyway!

Original poster
mum2b09 · 11/05/2009 17:10

haha i want to bf till DD is at least 12 months wich is why i wanted to know if i could drink atall.. girls gotta be able to let her hair dwn evry 1s in a while am i right?! x

OP posts:
BigBellasBeerBelly · 11/05/2009 17:14

You are so right mum2b... I guess your baby isn't here yet from your name?

TBH you won't feel like doing anything interesting for at least a couple of months after the baby comes, well unless you've got a lot more motivation and energy than me! BF is hard work at the beginning (well in fact babies are hard work at the beginning full stop) but it soon settles down and then you can start getting back to normal

Original poster
mum2b09 · 11/05/2009 17:27

yes shes here!! just hadnt thought to change my name lol.. shes 2 months now and the bfings going really well she was weighed at 7 weeks and was 11lb 2oz shes a little chubs

i agree tho bfing is hard work 2 start with and i eat like a man now not gd 4 the waistline but a good excuse to b a piggy

OP posts:
BigBellasBeerBelly · 11/05/2009 19:37

Aah congrats that's lovely! Really pleased the BF is going so well

Doesn't sound like you need much advice then, apart from ring your friends and arrange to go out!!!

LeninGrad · 12/05/2009 10:17

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

tiktok · 12/05/2009 10:23

CherryChoc - you said "Your breasts don't store milk for the next feed, it's made on demand."

Not quite right. The breasts do store milk. But the alcohol passes freely in and out of the milk, diffusing back into the blood.

You are right that 'pumping and dumping' is pointless.

CherryChoc · 12/05/2009 22:47

Sorry I thought it was only a tiny amount stored?

dinny · 12/05/2009 22:50

so is it bad to drink Tiktok (ahem, have had two big glasses of vino this evening....dd prob won't feed till about 1 or 2am at earliest though, eek