Breastfeeding and alcohol?

Question

I REALLY want to breastfeed for various reasons. My girlfriends are planning a small get together about 3 weeks after i have my son. I am 5'3, 135 pounds (im still pregnant but i was 122lbs to start out with). I plan to only drink 3-5 beers. Could I still breastfeed after that? Should I pump a lot of milk into bottles to last a couple days? Should I just not breastfeed?

No, I won't be drinking around my son, he will be with my parents for the night. So, no I won't be breastfeeding my son as I am drinking.

Answer 1

pump milk and keep aside for a day.

Answer 2

You should definitely breastfeed. You shouldn't choose not to do so simply because of one party.

And if your baby is going to be with your parents for that night, then you're going to have to pump prior to the party, right? Well, pump a little extra for the next morning and you'll be fine.

You will need to "pump and dump" that night, though, since your baby isn't around. Otherwise you are going to be in a lot of pain. Not sure how you're going to manage that logistically after having 3-5 beers...

You've got really nice parents to be willing to take care of a 3 week old overnight. ;-)

Answer 3

You should pump out milk enough milk to last for a couple days!

Answer 4

Ok, here it is in a nut shell.  What ever goes into you, goes into your baby.  If your going to drink, you will be feeding it to your little one after.  Especially after a binge of 3 to 5 beers.  I'm 6'1 and weigh 210 and after 6 beers, I can solve world hunger!!

The thing is this, I totally understand that after 9 months of living the life of a saint, you surely want to go out with your friends but, your also going to start a new life here.  Now, I'm not this old crabby preacher who's going to lecture you on life here, but I am a parent.  I had the opportunity to see alot of different people living alot of different lives with little ones by there sides and my advice on the partying and all is this.  

Don't pass for a bore, but at the same time, you need to prove that you are responsible and in control at all times.  That is how your little one will come to respect you and be a responsible partyer later in life.  I'm not making any assumptions or anything, just concerned.  Start the habit early that way, when those little eyes are on you, and start understanding what is going on, they wont get the wrong idea.

Thats about it!

;)

Answer 5

from a website:

"Alcohol clears the breast milk in about the same amount of time it takes to clear the blood stream. If you are planning to drink heavily (more than 2 drinks), you may want to give it 6-8 hours to clear your system," Ryan says.

so yeah, pump some extra milk ahead of time and after you drink, give it six to eight hours :) Have fun!

Answer 6

Don't do any drinking.  Surely you can wait until after you stop breastfeeding  to have a few beers.  Put your son's health first.

Answer 7

I think most doctors recommend 2 or 3 drinks maximum not 5 so I would check with your GP.

Answer 8

you shouldnt drink at all. whats more important your child or a beer? what will a few more months of not drinking hurt, and you shouldnt leave your child to drink.

Answer 9

If you really want to breastfeed you will not introduce bottles before 6-8 weeks anyway, or leave your baby overnight. Can't your girlfriends wait a little longer? Can't you? You only get the chance to establish a good nursing relationship once, you have your whole life to have a girls night out.

in response to your question, if you are gong to be longer than 4 hrs between feedings you will want to pump to maintain supply. I would pump and dump at that age, you don;t want to risk any alcohol in the baby;s milk. Once you are feeling sober it is fine to nurse again, or to use the milk you pump.

Answer 10

I enjoyed many "girls nite out" trips after my sons were born.  The easiest thing for me to do was pump before I went out (or supplement with formula) so they'd have milk, enjoyed myself, then pumped and discarded the other milk until I knew the alcohol was completely out of my system. ( I just waited the equivalent of 2 feedings.)  This worked well for me and I'll be using the same method for my 3rd child.

The one time I didn't use this method and fed my son 2 hours after my fun, he was really hopped up for a while.

Answer 11

Hold on, You said you're still pregnant?? Don't drink.

If you're breastfeeding, you should really not drink. It won't kill the kid, but if you're going to, yes you should pump enough to last a couple of days until its out of your system.

Prioritize- don't skip out on breastfeeding to drink, skip out on drinking to breastfeed.

Answer 12

drink at the most three.....

but dont breast feed afterwards!

wait like a cuople hours,,

beer is not as bad as hard liquor.

and if your able to sleep away from your son!!,,, i have no idea how you do it!

i cant be at a party for more than 4 hours!

i miss my son

Answer 13

The alcohol should be out of your system in 12-16 hours, depending on how many you drink, and whether or not you are eating as you drink.

I would say 3-5 beers would be out of your system at 12 hours but you can leave it longer if you would feel more comfortable.

I would express enough to fill 6 bottles to be on the safe side, or more depending on how often your baby feeds. 6 is a generous estimate as babies rarely drink a full bottle every 2 hours.

Answer 14

im sorry but you are pregnant you shouldnt even be thinking about drinking i have a baby and can guarrante that never during my pregnancy did i drink i think you should respect the baby you have inside of you and not drink at all because his or her body is soo small that by you drinking your hurting your baby.

Answer 15

I don't think you should plan how much you will be drinking ahead of time.  Since you haven't been drinking throughout the whole pregnancy your tolerance most likely went down, you should just have a beer and see how you feel.  I was told that it is fine to drink while breastfeeding as long as you don't get drunk and then feed your child.  You can have a few casual drinks and it will be fine.

Answer 16

I would pump several days, maybe 3 days, worth of breast milk in advance, just to be safe, then pump and dump for the days you are drinking and the says after.

Answer 17

When a mother is expecting her child and plans to breastfeed, she often thinks that she has to avoid all spicy, fatty, sugary and salty food. In fact she has to give up all foods that make life worth living! She is also supposed to abstain from  alcohol: gone is the delicious glass of red  wine with a plate of garlicky olives. But is this  true?

Well the answer is ‘not entirely’. Current research says that occasional use of alcohol (1-2 drinks) is not harmful to the nursing baby. The American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Drugs classifies alcohol (ethanol) as a “Maternal Medication Usually Compatible With Breastfeeding.” In plain English, what they recommend is ‘if you are sober enough to drive, you are sober enough to breastfeed’.

So exactly how much are you allowed to drink? Current medical experts recommend that a breastfeeding mother should not drink more than 1-2 units of alcohol per week. A breastfeeding mother should also avoid breastfeeding 2-3 hours after drinking alcohol. Less than 2% of alcohol consumed reaches her breast milk.

There are some myths about drinking and breastfeeding. The first being, that you can get rid of the alcohol in your breast milk by first expressing and then feeding baby later. There is no need to pump & dump milk after drinking alcohol, other than for mom's comfort -- pumping & dumping does not speed the elimination of alcohol from the milk. Another myth sometimes espoused is that drinking will increase your milk supply. This is not true; in fact, it has been shown to reduce the amount of milk produced.

If you do drink alcohol whilst breastfeeding your baby you should bear in mind the amount you drink and the age of the infant. A newborn has a very immature liver, so minute amounts of alcohol would be more of a burden. Up until around 3 months of age, infants detoxify alcohol at around half the rate of an adult. An older baby or toddler can metabolize the alcohol more quickly.

Here are some of the effects that drinking has on breastfeeding;

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).