Can you drink alcohol if breastfeeding?

[tacosplease]

Someone asked me yesterday whether I’ll be drinking alcohol again once the baby’s born OR whether I’m planning on breastfeeding (implying that I won’t be able to drink if I BF).

I was a bit surprised by this as I thought you could drink if breastfeeding, but is that not the case? If you do drink and breastfeed, does alcohol pass from your system to the baby?

You can drink and breastfeed. Your milk has the same amount of alcohol as your blood so you'd probably be dead if your milk had enough alcohol in it to cause harm. The danger is whether you're sober enough to care for the baby safely. I've been breastfeeding for nearly 2.5 years and I've been absolutely fine having a couple of drinks every now and then.

Everything I have read suggests 1-2 drinks a few times a week while breastfeeding is fine. The concentration being passed to your milk would be very low.

I think you can drink in moderation. I remember a mw teaching me to breastfeed she said you can hold babies head in this hand and your glass of wine in the other (I don't even drink!)
But if you were going for a night out I guess you'd pump and dump

11 years ago my brest feeding nurse/person encouraged me to drink (prem baby, very stressed and sad) she obviously didn't encourage me to get pissed, but said a glass of wine, or a pint of stout would work wonders every few days to chill me out and help me get back to normal. I was so down and scared and she really helped me to feel better.

Some say the occasional small glass of wine is fine, but I’ve cut it out completely.

Restricting caffeine was hard though.
And no Lemsip when I have a cold (decongestant ingredient can impact milk supply).

I agree with ohmysoul I've been told if you're sober enough to drive then you can breastfeed... it's more to do with whether you are capable of taking care of your child.
I've been bf for nearly 2 years and have a few rum/cokes and gone to an all inclusive and had a cocktail in the morning and another one in the evening. I do also bf on demand so it's not as if I'd pump and dump, I just take care that I dont drink loads.

I’ve actually just found this on the NHS website! Damnit - I was so looking forward to a glass of bubbly post birth...!

“Alcohol – alcohol also passes through your breast milk to your baby. Babies’ livers are delicate when they’re so young, which means alcohol can harm them. It’s best to avoid drinking more than 2 units of alcohol, more than once or twice a week. It’s best to completely avoid drinking while breastfeeding for the first 3 months.”

Yes, what ohmysoul said.

The alcohol concentration of breast milk is the same as the alcohol concentration in your blood, so the amount of alcohol passed to the baby is absolutely tiny. If you’re sober enough to safely care for a baby, then you’re sober enough to breastfeed. Although co-sleeping should be totally avoided if you’ve been drinking.

No need to pump and dump either, unless your breasts are getting uncomfortably full of milk while you’re out. The alcohol will naturally pass out of the breastmilk in your breasts at the same rate it passes out of your blood, so pumping and dumping won’t affect how alcoholic your breastmilk is.

A little is ok, I just restricted it to max 2 units once or twice a week. On the couple of occasions I drank more, I didn't feed for a few hours, pumping and dumping

If you're on Facebook, check out the group 'Breastfeeding Guidance and Support UK' - this topic comes up A LOT.
Summary -
It’s perfectly safe to have a few drinks and breastfeed. You’d need to be literally dying of alcohol poisoning for your blood alcohol levels to get high enough to it to have any adverse effect on baby.
As long as you’re safe to hold the baby, there’s no issue.
'Safe to hold, safe to feed' (actually, even if someone else had to hold baby to boob it would still be ok DO NOT GET THIS DRUNK - I'm not advocating getting so pissed that someone else has to hold the baby to your boob, just saying that even THEN it would still be fine to breastfeed)

www.facebook.com/138141916336863/posts/1094036144080764/?d=n

(I am not a medical professional so this is based on the research shared in the aforementioned group, just state clearly. Nor am I an alcoholic looking for an excuse!)

I think there is a lot of scaremongering about this. I often had a glass of wine in the bath when I was breastfeeding - more than once or twice a week. I never got drunk or drank big quantities but small amounts frequently I did.

www.laleche.org.uk/alcohol-drink/

I considered it safer to avoid. I didn't think risking would be safe.

Pp say it's ok. I say better avoid. There are other things you can enjoy. At the end of the day it's not for the rest of your life. I haven't heard of anyone dying because starved of alcohol.

I didn't drink while breastfeeding (16 months)

I intend to have wine again when I have my baby in June and will be breastfeeding. As others have said, getting drunk is not advised but I intend to have a glass or two of wine when I fancy it. I can’t bloody wait! Cheers 🥂

Yes. Do enjoy some alcohol as a treat, don’t feel the need to pump and dump, don’t get smashed and look after your baby, do enjoy what makes you happy and treat yourself to what you enjoy (within moderation). Child rearing is hard enough!

Thanks. Is it ok to have a drink during the first three months after birth though? Or should I wait until the baby is three months old?

Not sure where you got the info from on the NHS website about the first three months but this is their up to date page - nothing about three months that I can see (unless I've missed it!)

www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/breastfeeding-alcohol/

I would've died if starved of alcohol. Have a drink, OP. The guidelines even tell you you can have some, just don't go mad.

You'll be fine having one glass of champagne in the first 3 months!

I think you can safely drink alcohol when breastfeeding, so long as you are not drinking every day or regularly getting drunk.

However, it is not safe to drink alcohol if you are bed-sharing. That was bad news for me because my second baby would only sleep in my bed. I love a glass of wine or three, but it wasn't worth the pain of getting no sleep because ds wouldn't sleep in his cot.

Not sure where you got the info from on the NHS website about the first three months but this is their up to date page

Oh - strange that they don’t mention it on their updated page!

Here’s the link I looked at: www.nhs.uk/start4life/baby/breastfeeding/your-questions-answered/

You're fine to have a drink. I was told that if you drink while feeding or just after your blood alcohol levels will have dropped by the next feed. Mine fed fairly constantly though. I fed mine for nearly 2 years - between that, pregnancy and ttc I would have stayed sober for nearly a decade if I'd followed the most conservative advice (I didn't).

I think that's the problem with the really conservative advice about avoiding alcohol when breastfeeding - it puts people off from breastfeeding longer term if they feel that they need to completely give up alcohol for the duration.