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Original poster

Breast milk & alcohol?

44 replies

CrystalFlower · 24/03/2023 17:29

Hello,

im currently express breast milk in bottle feeding. I don’t drink every day. I always wait 24 hours from when I had my last alcholol drink before I start pumping breast milk is this acceptable or do I need longer?

I never drink days in a row I always drink one day and have the next day alcohol free and then I express the day after that and once I’ve expressed as much as I can I then have my three glasses of wine. (9 months without my wine I’m enjoying having my guilty pleasure back) is this safe? Or do you have to be alcohol free throughout breastfeeding until they stop needing milk?

new to this and midwife just keeps saying go online and look at nhs lol prefer experiences please thank you 😊

OP posts:
alyceflowers · 24/03/2023 17:37

The level of alcohol in your milk is the same as your blood.

If you are black-out drunk your milk will be about 0.16% alcohol. In many countries (including the EU) any drink up to 0.5% can be labelled alcohol free.

So basically, if you have a glass of wine or two your milk is fine. Within a couple of hours it's alcohol-free. It's not something you need to worry about.

Original poster
CrystalFlower · 24/03/2023 17:49

Even if I have a bottle of wine, as long as I leave it 24 hours since my last glass it will be safe to breast fed? Just making sure lol as I do worry 😊

OP posts:
Twizbe · 24/03/2023 17:51

Are you regularly drinking a bottle of wine? That might be something to chat to the midwife about.

But in general, if you're safe to drive a car you're safe to breastfeed. A glass is ok, a bottle perhaps not.

alyceflowers · 24/03/2023 17:53

A whole bottle of wine is 10 units, and a unit takes about an hour to leave your body.
The wine isn't going to have much effect on the safety of your milk anyway, but you'd be absolutely fine to breastfeed the next morning.
The main safety consideration is to not co-sleep or fall asleep holding your baby after drinking.

alyceflowers · 24/03/2023 17:54

Twizbe · 24/03/2023 17:51

Are you regularly drinking a bottle of wine? That might be something to chat to the midwife about.

But in general, if you're safe to drive a car you're safe to breastfeed. A glass is ok, a bottle perhaps not.

If you're safe to drive a car you're certainly safe to look after a baby.
Being over the driving limit doesn't make your milk unsafe though.

oldmumnewmum · 24/03/2023 17:54

Yeah your milk will be fine, but drinking a bottle of wine whilst looking after a young baby isn't ideal, I'm not anti alcohol, used to love a good drink, but since having my two little ones I want to be on top form at all times to look after them properly, just my opinion

Original poster
CrystalFlower · 24/03/2023 17:58

Oh no I never get black out drunk. My husband lives here and I always have alcohol free days hence the 24 hours after I drink. Not an alcoholic I just enjoy my rose when I have it. I never have more than two bottles of roses in 7 days never. Just double checking the safety of breast milk and making sure 24 hours is long enough for the body to have no alcohol left in it to affect breast milk that’s all.

OP posts:
Original poster
CrystalFlower · 24/03/2023 18:04

I used two bottles of rose as an example doesn’t mean I have it every week I wouldn’t be able to afford too for a start lol I’m very sensible and in top form with my babies hence why I even opened this thread of conversation in the first place 😏safety and priority of my kids come first I’m new to breast feeding as I’ve always used formula but cost of living is making me evaluate my options.

OP posts:
Emmamoo89 · 24/03/2023 18:18

I drink like 3 glasses of wine and feed my son straight away. You will literally have to have alcohol poisoning for it to reach your baba.

SleekMamma · 24/03/2023 18:23

If you can drive then you can feed a baby your breast milk. It's low enough alcohol basically.
The alcohol had been digested and metabolised and is in your blood stream after all that.

So the best time to feed is actually whilst having a drink! (Obviously not getting plastered)

SleekMamma · 24/03/2023 18:25

Two bottles of wine over a week? Continually? That's too much for anyone tbh, let alone breastfeeding. I would halve that to 1 bottle max. But it's not as good as not drinking.

I thought you meant the odd glass. Not 2 bottles!

I think you need to reset your alcohol consumption.

HealthyFats · 24/03/2023 18:31

Sober enough to hold a baby=sober enough to feed a baby.

Kranke · 24/03/2023 18:37

In our NCT class the midwife said we’d have to drink the equivalent of 8 pints of beer for it even to have a slight affect on the baby. A few glasses of wine is fine. My friend is a dietician for a well renowned children’s hospital and would have a couple of glasses and breastfeed - literally be drinking a glass when feeding. You don’t need to pump and dump.

SleekMamma · 24/03/2023 18:37

I disagree Healthy. Drunk enough to think you are fine, does not equal sober enough to make good decisions,!

StillSmallVoice · 24/03/2023 18:40

Back in the dark ages I was struggling to feed a newborn and the midwife prescribed stout. DH at the time was in the off-licence on a Sunday morning and the person behind the counter said 'wife feeding, is she?'

The idea was that the liquid was helpful for producing the milk and the relatively small amount of alcohol helped to relax, which also helped.

A small glass of wine had a similar affect and my brother, who was a doctor said that was absolutely fine.

Times move on though and advice changes. Sometimes I think things go too far in the other direction. Because some people will drink too much, or because there's a small risk from soft cheese the advice is to abstain completely. Then anyone having a glass of wine while feeding or eating a piece of Brie whilst pregnant is judged to be reckless and a bad mother.

BertieBotts · 24/03/2023 18:42

You can find calculators online to work out how long it takes alcohol to leave your system.

In general having a couple of drinks puts such a tiny amount of alcohol into your milk it's not worth worrying about. But a whole bottle is a lot and it might be better to wait in that case. It may also be an issue if you are drinking very regularly.

HealthyFats · 24/03/2023 18:49

SleekMamma · 24/03/2023 18:37

I disagree Healthy. Drunk enough to think you are fine, does not equal sober enough to make good decisions,!

The expression doesn’t mean that it’s fine to be drunk. It means that, if you are safe to hold the baby (ie not drunk!) you are safe to feed. A glass is ok, a bottle definitely not!

Original poster
CrystalFlower · 24/03/2023 18:58

Thank you for the replies 😊

I agree with most of these comments… I do see your point @HealthyFats ….. @SleekMamma if you read the post I said I couldn’t afford to drink two bottle of wine a week even if I wanted too! So no I do not continually drink that what so ever. I always stay under 14 units a week and if I have gone over (aka the two bottles of wine I said off it will be over a 7 day span on a very special occasion aka over Christmas period… thank you for your comments about resetting my already under the safety limits guidelines on my alcohol intake but im going to decline the advice 😂this post is about alcohol and when it’s out of breast milk so thank you ladies for those who have actually read the post properly and not tried to mum shame me based on reading half the post and assuming the rest lol ffs

OP posts:
Original poster
CrystalFlower · 24/03/2023 19:02

*no I do not drink two bottles of wine every week! If I have it’s over special occasions like Christmas… it’s normally a bottle of wine a week that’s spread out as I always want alcohol free days to reset my body to be healthy. 💅

OP posts:
Original poster
CrystalFlower · 24/03/2023 19:10

StillSmallVoice · 24/03/2023 18:40

Back in the dark ages I was struggling to feed a newborn and the midwife prescribed stout. DH at the time was in the off-licence on a Sunday morning and the person behind the counter said 'wife feeding, is she?'

The idea was that the liquid was helpful for producing the milk and the relatively small amount of alcohol helped to relax, which also helped.

A small glass of wine had a similar affect and my brother, who was a doctor said that was absolutely fine.

Times move on though and advice changes. Sometimes I think things go too far in the other direction. Because some people will drink too much, or because there's a small risk from soft cheese the advice is to abstain completely. Then anyone having a glass of wine while feeding or eating a piece of Brie whilst pregnant is judged to be reckless and a bad mother.

I agree… it’s good to be overly safe with your babies but not good to mum shame people so easily.

OP posts:
Sallyh87 · 24/03/2023 19:25

@CrystalFlower, please note that if you post on MumsNet about having any more alcohol that a small sherry at Christmas you have a problem 😉

Original poster
CrystalFlower · 24/03/2023 19:29

@Sallyh87 ive now noticed that 😂how dare I have that bottle of wine a week…. Terrible terrible mother 😓

OP posts:
Coyoacan · 24/03/2023 21:16

I drink like 3 glasses of wine and feed my son straight away. You will literally have to have alcohol poisoning for it to reach your baba

I had my baby nearly forty years ago and it didn't even cross my mind that any alcohol I drank would go into the milk. I'm not recommending it but my baby has grown up very healthy and is virtually teetotal too.

As for looking after babies with a hangover, there is nothing worse. It certainly was a great reason to cut down on my drinking

Weedoormatnomore · 24/03/2023 21:31

I got rather merry on a night out first drink in well over a year came home slept for a couple of hours son woke up crying automatically feed him went back to bed. He had the longest sleep he had ever had I was so concerned as meant to give him a bottle for the next couple of feeds. He was ok me a nervous wreak for what I did.

ItsTimeToWine · 24/03/2023 21:37

I've spent the best part of 6+ years breastfeeding 3 children (still going), I have never stopped drinking. I wouldn't get blind drunk and feed, you wouldn't if you wasn't breastfeeding and looking after a baby anyway. A few glasses of wine over an evening I've never done anything different and have always fed as normal. Absolutely no need to be waiting 24 hours. I think some women think that your milk turns into wine and the wine you drink is what the baby is drinking, it's metabolised and v little makes it into your milk.