About drinking while breastfeeding...

Melissa - posted on 08/08/2009

Wow test strips - interesting idea! I have referred people to the kellymom article many times! Does anyone know of good heavy metal and chemical detectors?!?



I am going on my 5th year straight of nursing my 2 children and I do have a couple drinks occasionally, a few months of this was tandem and I have not missed a day. I think breastfeeding is the best gift you could give a baby/child. I do not believe that excessive drinking of anything, other than water, is good when breastfeeding.



I did not drink with my first until she was 9 months, with my second... I think I had a glass of wine when she was 4 months! The biggest thing I have noticed is runnier baby poops. Maybe a little more tired or cranky, but definitely not as cranky as when I overload caffeine. Major difference with me was more milk. I become engorged when I have a couple drinks,especially beers.



I wanted to post on here that when you cosleep, be more cautious with baby in bed. I think that is one real issue that people could discuss alternatives, not whether drinking while nursing is unsafe. Drinking alcohol is obviously not beneficial for people's bodies and babies of course are smaller and developing, so that is agreed by most. I think the real worry with altering your mind is the care you give your baby during and after. Making sure baby has a safe place to sleep and will be taken care of is the most important! The emotional energy with what we give to our little ones is vital and they are far more aware of it than we realize! I will add that babies crying and kids whining after too much wine is no fun combination!



Eating healthy organic foods is by far the best thing you can do for your milk and baby! A couple alcoholic drinks is not going to harm them anymore than a few cases of formula! Remember it was rocketfuel found in formula, not beer! Breast is best!

Cassandra - posted on 08/06/2009

I actually use the test strips. They are amazing. There is no guessing game with your milk. I have found that even if I feel fine it may come up positive, which if I didn't have the strips would have ended up in my son. There is nothing wrong with going out and drinking. My son is 3 months old and I still have the first box i bought. I think it's wrong to assume someone who buys these strips is being irresponsible. I buy them to protect my son.
I will not take the chance with him getting alcohol in his system and this prevents that. I recommend the strips to everyone, even someone who is going to only have 1 or 2 drinks. Everyone's body handles alcohol differently, so why play a guessing game?

Marabeth - posted on 08/05/2009

alcohol leaves your breastmilk as it leaves your bloodstream. so there is no need to pump and dump, it does not speed the elimination of alcohol in your milk. if you feel drunk your breastmilk has more alcohol in it. if you feel tipsy it has less. if you feel completely in control (low blood-alcohol level) your milk should be fine. i'm less concerned about alcohol reaching my child and more concerned about it affecting my supply, even by a little bit. alcohol is a depressant and it slows your nervous system. one could assume it slows your milk production.




Effects of alcohol on breastfeeding and the breastfed baby

Alcohol does not increase milk production. In fact, babies nurse more frequently but take in less milk in the 3-4 hours after mom has had a drink, and one study showed a 23% decrease in milk volume with one drink (Mennella & Beauchamp 1991, 1993; Mennella 1997, 1999).

2+ drinks may inhibit let-down (Coiro et al 1992; Cobo 1974).

One study showed changes in the infant's sleep-wake patterning after short-term exposure to small amounts of alcohol in breastmilk -- infants whose mothers were light drinkers slept less (Mennella & Gerrish 1998).

Daily consumption of alcohol has been shown in the research to increase the risk for slow weight gain in the infant.

Daily consumption of alcohol (1+ drinks daily) has been associated with a decrease in gross motor development (Little et al 1989).




http://kellymom.com/health/lifestyle/alc...





i know this is off topic from the op but when i see the conversation turn concerning this topic i feel the need to add my two cents. :) ty.

Evelyn - posted on 08/05/2009

Totally agree with Mary Neidich! I did the same.
I do have to say, I think those strips are totally absurd! You know you shouldn't "drink" and breastfeed. And I mean heavily drink, not one or two over a few hours. If you're going to drink ALOT pump and dump! If you have to feed your baby either give him/her prepumped milk (before you drank) or formula. It's common sense and being responsible... if you need to buy strips to test your milk, you've got issues!

Mary - posted on 08/04/2009

Well, I kinda feel like we Americans are a bit over-the-top paranoid about alcohol consumption, but that is probably b/c we can't seem to do anything in moderation. I am still breastfeeding my 8.5 month old daughter, and every so often, I have had a beer or two since her birth. I did not pump 'n dump, and I noticed absolutely NO difference in her level of alertness. Of course, I had those 2 beers over a 3-4 hour window, so I wasn't buzzed, either. I did notice that I dehydrated more quickly, and developed a headache, so this is a rare indulgence, b/c it's really not worth it for me...I seem to need to drink a 1/2 gallon of water along with those 2 beers to avoid that headache...in which case I live on the toilet, and my boobs get HUGE!! Small amounts of alcohol, in moderation, are not shown to be harmful to breastfed babies...darker, hoppier beers are actually a way to increase supply.

Lucy - posted on 08/04/2009

Personally i wouldn't risk even having 1 drink while breastfeeding, i don't want that crap being passed onto her. If it makes her drowsy then obviously the alcohol has passed in to her system so what damage is it doing to her tiny little internal organs?!

Leigh - posted on 08/04/2009

Umm well I only bf for a year with my first, & you will have to express, because your supply builds up, especailly if you're feeding every 3-4 hours & that milk is not good for feeding to the baby.

Mel - posted on 08/02/2009

i didnt BF very long so didnt have to worry about the drinking thing and when i did drink it was only 1-2 drinks and also i was formula feeding to so i could just use formula instead if i'd had alcohol and i used to express for her so i didnt have to breast feed cause it was a horrible experience for me, but just remember that pumping and dumping does not get the alcohol out of your system this is a myth. only time does that. theres absolutely no need to express after drinking. just wait til you are sober to breast feed again

Kylie - posted on 08/02/2009

cool i found some info http://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/bfinfo/d...
i wonder if the make a caffeine level test kit...i need one of those! so over de-caf

Kylie - posted on 08/02/2009

thats a cool idea but basically if you can feel the effects of alcohol its in your blood stream and in your milk. takes an hour for 1 standard drink to be out of your system..thats an easy guideline to follow..if baby is having a feed every 3 hours you can have 3 drinks.
I always wondered what the effect on a child would be if your milk was alcoholic..I've breastfed my son feeling tipsy..i cant find any info online about it.

Leigh - posted on 08/02/2009

2-3 drinks whilst breastfeeding would have me totally ripped, so that's what passes through my breastmilk. From experience when I did drink after my son was 6 weeks, I expressed & threw away the milk from the next day, but even after that he was really drowsy & off for the whole day/night, so I know that alcohol stays in your system for alot longer than the hangover. Test strips would have come in handy lol!!

Mel - posted on 08/02/2009

ive heard of them but you can have 2-3 drinks before breast feeding anyway all it does is make baby a bit tired. excellent for those who intend to have a night out though the doc always told me wait til the hang over sub sides the next day then its ok to BF

Sharon - posted on 08/02/2009

I did a quick search online and didn't find anything that said they were inaccurate.



These are simple acid test strips. The same sort fish keepers and fish enthusiasts rely on.

Amy - posted on 08/02/2009

That's awesome...most of the time when you go out drinking, you tend to loose track of how many drinks you've had. Now, I'm not condoning the whole going out and getting trashed thing, but when you do actually get the chance to go out (which for me is VERY rare), why not let loose a bit?

Jacqueline - posted on 08/02/2009

1st off I wouldn't trust something like that! Wouldnt you feel horrible if the strip was wrong!

Michelle - posted on 08/02/2009

Interesting. I have never heard of those. It is neat that they sell something like that.