Alcohol and breastfeeding

[llambden]

I sound like a bad mother. 
My husband and I have a Christmas party to go to and I would like to have a few alcohol drinks.  How many times do I have to express my milk before it is OK for my baby to breastfeed again and he won't recieve any alcohol. I know it is safe to have one drink right after breastfeeding and should be out of your system by the next feed but what happens if I have six or more drinks -  do I have to express the next feed and by the next time he would be OK.


Lori

[Fife_Mum]

Given that I just saw this whilst breastfeeding with a (small) glass of wine on the table next to me I thought I'd look it up!  :oops:

See this page and the linked article whick I quote from below:
http://www.lalecheleague.org/FAQ/alcohol.html

the elimination of alcohol from the milk is closely related to its elimination from the blood and not affected by breastfeeding or pumping milk.  This indicates that there is no benefit to the practice of pumping and dumping one's milk after drinking alcohol other than to allow for the comfort of the mother whose breasts may become engorged if she delays breastfeeding her baby.

As the alcohol clears from a mother's blood, it clears from her milk.  The Schulte article provides a table showing the time it takes to metabolize alcohol based on a woman's weight.  If a woman weighs 100 lbs. (45 kg.) and has one drink, it will take 3.1 hours to clear her system.  If she weighs 160 lbs. (72 kg.), it will take 1.9 hours to clear her system.  It is not known whether this information applies to the lactating woman of the same weight as a non-lactating woman because of the research documenting differences in the processing of alcohol.  Schulte also states that neither coffee, showers nor fresh air will hasten the process.  In another article in that same journal, Philip O. Anderson recommends that mothers wait to breastfeed at least two hours after one drink.

Basically don't bother pumping except to make yourself comfortable, and probably don't feed until you would be sober enough to drive legally.

[zelkad]

ditto  Fraser's mom's message....I would pump'dump just to keep up my supply if you normally would feed baby during the time you are at the party.  If you don't feed baby in the evening there is no point to pumping seeing as it does not get rid of the alcohol sooner!  You may want to be cautious and have some ebm ready in a bottle in case baby wakes when you get home wanting a feed  

As for being a bad mother....No way!  (Maybe I'm biased but I love my red wine and I don't consider myself a bad mom )

Enjoy your party!

[jbepko]

Great info...I've never worried about the occassional beer/glass of wine...but often wondered about nights when I may 2-4 drinks (remember those nice dinners out?)....nice info to have.

[llambden]

Thank you all for your information.  This has help me a lot.

Lori

[hayes]

Great!  Thanks for posting this.

[Liliben]

I know the feeling of being a bad mother after the occasional glass of wine. I woke up this morning after drinking 2.5 glasses of wine with a bad headache and breasfed DS. He is now 13 months and we do 2 feeds morning and evening. He will not take a bottle so I had to feed him and felt awful in case there was alcohol in my bloodstream. I drank the wine between 8pm and 10pm and drank 2 pints of water before going to bed and DS woke up his usual 6.30 for a feed. Would the alcohol still have been in my bloodstream? DH seems to think the headache is something else and just a coincidence. Also, am I right in saying that the breasts fill just before the 2 feeds that we do and therefore the milk shouldn't be affected? I'm feeling very concerned and guilty. Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

[zelkad]

Hi ...do not feel bad at all!!!  Read the info that Fraser's mom posted on this thread and you'll see that the wine you drank is long gone!!!  As for your headache, yes it could be from the wine but that does not mean that it's still in your system. It's probably hurting because you don't drink often, which is a good thing!!!  Go have a rest  and don't worry!! :lol:
Zelka

[Liliben]

Thanks for the words of reassurance. I'm sure I knew that deep down but just felt a bit paranoid. The LLI stuff was really informative. After a year of breastfeeding I feel a bit stupid sometimes that I'm still not sure how my body produces milk and how everything works. Thanks again.