There has been a lot of stuff online lately about it being perfectly fine to breastfeed and drink alcohol, and after reading some of the stuff out there I think the bigger picture is being missed a bit by people. It’s not as black and white as some of the posts and comments I’ve seen are making it out to be.
Sorry, I’m afraid it may not be completely OK to go out on the booze and then breastfeed your baby.
As far as I understand it, and as I was taught in my peer counselling training, it is considered ok to drink a little in terms of your breast milk content; the rule of thumb is if you feel it in your bloodstream then it’s in your breast milk, but scientifically the level of alcohol passing to your child is pretty low so that’s not the biggest issue here.
One thing of bigger concern for me is that you shouldn’t ever share your bed with a baby after you have been drinking; if you normally breastfeed in bed or relaxed on a sofa, and there is a chance you may fall asleep, make sure that there is someone there to watch and place the baby in their cot after you are finished. If either parent has been drinking, the possibility of SIDs during co-sleeping is likely to be increased. Remember that even a little alcohol is enough to change how deeply you sleep.
Also worth considering is that alcohol might make your breast milk taste different which your baby may not like, and it can also have an effect on your let down. The rule of thumb is that it takes an hour for each unit of alcohol to leave your body so if you’ve had a glass of wine you could wait an hour or two before feeding – I used to make sure I’d fed before I had a glass, and then they would normally not need to feed again for a while anyway.
The obvious concern is – and shouldn’t even need mentioning, but there are some mad people out there who seem to think it’s ok – you need to be sober enough to be a responsible & safe parent. The rule of thumb for us is to stay within drink-driving limits if we are the “designated parent” that day. If you are so drunk that you are dropping things then you probably shouldn’t be holding a baby to try to breast feed it anyway, lets face it.
It’s not bad to enjoy the odd glass or two during your time breastfeeding, that’s what I’m saying… but obviously everything in moderation – and be aware of the risks.
