Alcohol and Breastfeeding
I guess most people would assume that alcohol and breastfeeding works much the same as alcohol and pregnancy. But everyone I seem to ask on the subject has a different opinion.
Some women will limit or cut out their alcohol intake while they are pregnant but once the baby arrives I guess it can be nice to be able to have a drink, even if just to toast to an occasion. So how does alcohol and breastfeeding work? Is drinking alcohol while breastfeeding ok?
General Effects of Alcohol on Breast Milk
If you do drink alcohol while breastfeeding, whether it's one drink or more, you may find that your baby will refuse your breast. This is usually because alcohol can change the taste of your breast milk. if your baby doesn't want to feed, lots of skin to skin contact, patience and loving cuddles can often help to encourage him or her back to the breast.
Alcohol can also slow down your let down reflex. To help with this you can try hand expressing some breast milk so that you start your milk flowing for your baby. Feeding your baby before he or she is hungry may also help them wait that little bit longer for your milk to flow.
When drinking alcohol while breastfeeding, you may find that your baby seems tired or sleepy. Although I used to joke about this being a good thing, babies who take in alcohol through breast milk will usually wake more often during that sleep cycle.
Very sleepy babies can find it harder to suck and this may mean that your milk supply could drop. Expressing or offering breast feeds more often are just two ways to build it up again, see our page on increasing breast milk for more info.
Occaisional Drinking
If you are going out and would like to have a drink or two, you might need to consider the age of your baby. If your baby is under 6 months then it's likely that your breast milk is his or her only food source, so they will rely heavily on your milk. So what can you do??
When you are drinking alcohol and breastfeeding on a one off baisis, one strategy to try is timing your night out or drinks with your feeding…kind of like you might do with driving. So you might try and feed your baby just before you have a drink and then stop drinking a few hours before your baby's next feed, again this will depend on your baby's age and your size and weight, if you have been eating and drinking water, ect can all make a difference to length of time you need to wait. You might find that if your baby is feeding every 2–3 hours you might not have the time to wait for the alcohol to wear off.
You might like to plan ahead and express enough breast milk to last your baby 24 hours or so –or at least to replace the number of feeds or hours it will take for the alcohol to wear off. The general rule of thumb is 2 hours for every standard drink, but again that will depend on your weight, if you have been drinking on a full or empty stomach, and if you have had any water in between drinks.
Keep in mind that the alcohol levels in your breast milk will wear off in time. You can't express out contaminated milk in the hope that the next batch of breast milk will be alcohol free, much like you can't bleed out the alcohol level in your blood, you simply have to wait until your body processes it.
It might help to try anything else that may work for you in terms of reducing the alcohol absorption into your blood; like drinking lots of water, sticking to the low alcohol drinks and eating while you're drinking.
Frequent Drinking
If you are drinking one standard drink a day or more, expressing or timing your drinks may not make a difference.
Drinking alcohol and breastfeeding consistently could in fact reduce the growth rate of your baby's brain and damage your baby's liver especially if they are under 3 months old. You may find that your baby's over all growth is under average and his or her motor skills may take longer to develop.
Only you know and can judge the amounts of alcohol you consume and if you are concerned about it please speak to your doctor or childhood nurse.
Although alcohol and breastfeeding may not make the best mix, you may still be able to have a great night out and enjoy a few drinks if you plan ahead by expressing alcohol free breast milk for your baby.
Please always remember to consult your health professional to find out information that is relevant to your specific situation.
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