Marijuana or Alcohol and Breastfeeding

boymama2022

I see on the discussion what are you looking forward to getting back to after pregnancy many ladies ready for a drink or marijuana in some form…whatever it may be how does everyone plan on navigating adding in some of those outlets and breastfeeding? I’m hoping breastfeeding goes well for me and am willing to do what I need to for my soon to be new baby boy but this has definitely been something I’m curious about and how other mamas plan to go about this 🤷🏻‍♀️

knottiec1bd6c5399b4642a

I breastfed my first for two years. I didn't have any alcohol for the first couple months. Clusterfeeding can make it difficult to have a long enough break to have a drink, and anyways I was so exhausted that I wouldn't have wanted to drink and make myself more tired. When baby gets older, it gets easier to have a long enough break from nursing (when baby can get a bottle) to have a drink.  I would only have one drink at a time and wait at least 3 hours before breastfeeding afterwards. This is a good article from the CDC about alcohol and breastfeeding: https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/breastfeeding-special-circumstances/vaccinations-medications-drugs/alcohol.html#:~:text=Generally, moderate alcohol consumption by,a single drink before nursing.

I don't know about marijuana. I remember hearing that it can affect hormone levels (which is why men can get gynecomastia when they use pot frequently). I'm not sure how long it stays in your system as compared to alcohol. Also, since the US has historically made it difficult to do marijuana research, I wonder if there is really sufficient information to know what is safe when it comes to breastfeeding. It seems like the CDC advises against marijuana use while breastfeeding: https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/breastfeeding-special-circumstances/vaccinations-medications-drugs/marijuana.html#:~:text=Data on the effects of,those containing CBD, while breastfeeding.

rac2718

General rule of thumb for alcohol and breastfeeding is if you can feel the effects of the alcohol, some has passed into your milk. Pumping and dumping doesn't work. You just need to wait until you don't feel the effects any longer. If you have a drink right after nursing, you should be ok until the next feeding if it's just 1 drink. As pp said, you're so tired in the beginning you don't really want the drink you were looking forward to. I had my first drink on Friday night and baby is now 3 weeks. As soon as he was done nursing, I had a glass of wine. Honestly, it just made me super thirsty for water lol

admiralnilla

As far as Marijuana goes, I plan to stay sober at a minimum of 1 year. [Medical Marijuana card holder here] If breastfeeding goes over that, then whenever they (still don't know gender) don't want to breastfeed any longer. 
Alcohol on the other hand, I'm reserved about to begin with. I want to create enough frozen breastmilk to accommodate if I want to enjoy an evening by having a glass or two. Don't forget, they do make alcohol breastmilk testing strips. I don't want to guess in that department, I'd rather test and know for sure.