Ok, so this might be a stupid question.... but what do you ladies think about drinking alcohol and breastfeeding? I have read different things. Some books say that one glass of wine or one beer would not hurt the baby, but not to binge drink and then breastfeed. Other books say not to drink ANY alcohol while breastfeeding. My friends have told me that when they drink they just "pump and dump". I have also heard about alocohol testing strips for breastmilk.
I promise I am not an alcoholic or anything...LOL. Just wondering what you guys think? TIA
Re: Breastfeeding Question
Personally, I am not going to drink. But, I am sure a glass of wine would be fine. I just wouldnt drink anything to strong... but this is just my opinion, I am not a dr.
I took a BFing class and the lactation consultant said a drink is fine at night - just nurse the baby right before it so you'll have time for the alcohol to process through your system before it's time to feed again.
They do have those testing strips (I call them breast-a-lyzers, though I don't know if they have a real name!) and the LC also said never to nurse if you feel tipsy or drunk.
-m/c at 11w2d due to partial molar 2008 -m/c #2 2009
Beautiful daughter born February 2011
**Ultimate TTCALer 2009**
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We just had a class with a lactation consultant. She said that the alcohol metabolizes in your system, so there's no need to 'pump and dump' in order to drain out the bad milk (although maybe for comfort and to keep up the supply/demand thing) It's like the alcohol in your blood, it metabolizes...you don't have drain your blood to get rid of it. She also said that a drink takes about 20 minutes to get into your milk supply and about 1.5 hours after that to get out. So, about 2 hours for each drink (of course, your size and how much you've eaten affect this).
She also said the thing about how the best time to have a drink would be while you are actually breast feeding
I posted about this on 3rd tri awhile back and from what I learned there, there is no need to "pump and dump" since the alcohol will metabolize out of your milk just as it does out of your blood. The only reason to pump and dump or hand express would be if you needed to pump due to engorgement.
Also, following the rule of not BFing when tipsy is good and having a glass of wine isn't going to hurt. Either that or feed your LO prior to drinking anything.
This was the site I was directed to that has some good information https://www.kellymom.com/health/lifestyle/alcohol.html