Drinking and Breastfeeding: Effects on baby and What to Know
You didn’t drink for 9 whole months while pregnant!
And now that your baby’s here you may want to raise a glass to motherhood and celebrate with a drink! But before you do, you need to know a few things…
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4 Things To Know When Mixing Alcohol With Breastfeeding
1. Alcohol gets into your breast milk
When you drink alcohol it DOES get into your breast milk. At whatever time you breastfeed or pump, the same amount of alcohol that’s present in your blood stream is also in your breast milk.
The level peaks about 30-60 minutes after drinking and then gradually falls as your body works to clear it from your system. The more you drink, the higher the levels in your milk and the longer it’ll take to clear it.
Click here for a free alcohol and breastfeeding calculator.
2. pumping and dumping doesn’t help
No need to pump and dump (which is expressing milk and throwing it away). Time, and nothing else, will clear the alcohol from both your bloodstream and breast milk. So pumping and dumping is useless and will not speed up the process.
3. Alcohol affects your breast milk
While alcohol is in your system, you may have a harder time having a letdown, your milk flow may not be as strong and you may have a temporary dip in your breast milk output.
Drinking may also can change the taste of breast milk, decreasing the amount the baby may want to drink.
Everything will return to normal again once your body has cleared the alcohol.
4. alcohol Affects Your baby
If your baby is exposed to alcohol in breast milk it may affect their sleep patterns. They may wake more frequently or sleep for shorter periods of time.
Excessive and long-term exposure to alcohol in breast milk may also negatively affect the baby’s growth and development so moderation and timing are key!
The American Academy of Pediatrics says you can safely consume one to two alcoholic drinks per week while breastfeeding. They further advise to wait about two hours after each drink to minimize any alcohol in your breast milk.
Tips For Drinking and Breastfeeding
PRO-TIP #1: Breastfeed first and then enjoy your alcoholic drink shortly after. That way it’ll allow yourself more time for the alcohol to work its way out of your system before your baby needs to breastfeed again.
PRO-TIP #2: Have a back up plan. Having a stash of milk in your freezer is perfect in case you ever drink more than you expect and can’t breastfeed your baby safely.
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