Cigarettes, breastfeeeding, alcohol??

Question

so, supposedly you can still breastfeed if you drink alcohol. But you have to wait a few hours so it can be out of your system before you can feed again...but what about cigarettes? do you wait a few hours also?? my friend smokes and breast feeds. she said that her dr said that she should wait atleast 90mins before she Bf agains..and that breastmilk is still better than formula. i guess she was going to stop breastfeeding because she starting smoking again, but DR told her that she can still do it..even tho its better for baby if she stops. ..what do u think??

Answer 1

Well I know for the alcohol thing you have to pump four hours after and throw the milk away.  I have heard the 90 minute rule for smoking though too..

Answer 2

It's most definitley not good, just to be on the safe side. But cigaretts don't really go out through the breast milk. That's why the Dr. may have said it was ok. But anything toxin you bring in your body is harmful, and if your feeding it to your baby to, it may also may harmful! So I would be aware of that. Also if she went 9 months without smoking like your supposed, why does she need to continue smoking now that she's breastfeeding, that's very selfish to her innocent baby. For her bad habits.

Answer 3

I think that smoking is bad no matter what - especially if she does it around the child. Second hand smoke is just as bad if not worse than actually smoking, breastfeeding wouldn't be the thing I would be worried about in that situation.

Answer 4

It is ok, its not ideal though. Breastmilk is still the best for the baby even if mom smokes., I smoked and my doctor told me to give it 1/2 hour after a cigarrette. I usually olny could go outside to smoke while they were sleeping anyways so it worked out ok.  

Answer 5

First off, you don't have to wait to breastfeed after drinking, if you only have 1-2 drinks at a time.  Only a trace of alcohol gets into the milk.

It is best to avoid smoking entirely while breastfeeding. But if she must smoke, it's far better to keep breastfeeding. (Breastfeeding offers some protection against most of  the same illnesses/conditions that smoking promotes -- SIDS, asthma, respiratory infections, ear infections.)

It's sensible to wait to nurse after smoking, and it's VERY important that she never smoke around the baby or in the house/car.  (If possible, she should change her clothes and wash her hands after smoking, before handling the baby.)

Answer 6

Of course it is better if she stops smoking.  Even if her child was 20 years old its better that she stop smoking because no child should have to watch their parent go through emphysema or cancer.

However the simple fact of the matter is that it is not easy to stop smoking, and once an addict always an addict.  Some people "fall off the wagon" years after they quit.

It is far, far safer to smoke and breastfeed than smoke and formula feed.  Formula feeding increases all the same risks as exposure to second or third hand smoke: ear infections, allergies, SIDS, high cholesterol, etc.

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

Should a mother who smokes cigarettes breastfeed?

First of all, a mom who can't stop smoking should breastfeed. Breastfeeding provides many immunities that help your baby fight illness and can even help counteract some of the effects of cigarette smoke on your baby: for example, breastfeeding has been shown to decrease the negative effects of cigarette smoke on a baby's lungs. It's definitely better if breastfeeding moms not smoke, but if you can't stop or cut down, then it is better to smoke and breastfeed than to smoke and formula feed.

The more cigarettes that you smoke, the greater the health risks for you and your baby. If you can't stop smoking, or don't want to stop smoking, it's safer for your baby if you cut down on the number of cigarettes that you smoke.



What happens to babies when they are exposed to cigarette smoke?

    * Babies and children who are exposed to cigarette smoke have a much higher incidence of pneumonia, asthma, ear infections, bronchitis, sinus infections, eye irritation, and croup.

    * Colic occurs more often in babies whose mothers or fathers smoke or if a breastfeeding mother smokes. Researchers believe that not only does the nicotine transferred into mother's milk upset baby but the passive smoke in the home acts as an irritant. Babies of smoking parents fuss more, and mothers who smoke may be less able to cope with a colicky baby (due to lower levels of prolactin).

    * Heavy smoking by breastfeeding moms occasionally causes symptoms in the breastfeeding baby such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and diarrhea.

    * Babies of smoking mothers and fathers have a seven times greater chance of dying from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

    * Children of smoking parents have two to three times more visits to the doctor, usually from respiratory infections or allergy-related illnesses.

    * Children who are exposed to passive smoke in the home have lower blood levels of HDL, the good cholesterol that helps protect against coronary artery disease.

    * Children of smoking parents are more likely to become smokers themselves.

    * A recent study found that growing up in a home in which two parents smoked could double the child's risk of lung cancer later in life.



How does does smoking affect breastfeeding?

Smoking has been linked to:

    * Earlier weaning. One study showed that the heaviest smokers tend to wean the earliest.

    * Lower milk production

    * Interference with milk let-down

    * Lower levels of prolactin. The hormone prolactin must be present for milk synthesis to occur.

    * One study (Laurberg 2004) indicated that smoking mothers who live in areas of mild to moderate iodine deficiency have less iodine in their breastmilk (needed for baby's thyroid function) compared to nonsmoking mothers. The study authors suggested that breastfeeding mothers who smoke consider taking an iodine supplement.

Although smoking has been linked to milk production and let-down problems, this may be related to poor lactation management rather than physiological causes. Dr. Lisa Amir, in a review published in 2001, concluded that "Although there is consistent evidence that women who smoke breastfeed their infants for a shorter duration than non-smokers, the evidence for a physiological mechanism is not strong."

How to minimize the risk to your baby if you smoke

    * The ideal: Stop smoking altogether.

    * Cut down. The less you smoke, the smaller the chance that difficulties will arise. The risks increase if you smoke more than 20 cigarettes per day.

    * Don't smoke immediately before or during breastfeeding. It will inhibit let-down and is dangerous to your baby.

    * Smoke immediately after breastfeeding to cut down on the amount of nicotine in your milk during nursing. Wait as long as possible between smoking and nursing. It takes 95 minutes for half of the nicotine to be eliminated from your body.

    * Avoid smoking in the same room with your baby. Even better, smoke outside, away from your baby and other children. Don't allow anyone else to smoke near your baby.



This article is dedicated to the memory of my mother-in-law, a long-time smoker who died of lung cancer in January 1999.

Answer 7

Breast milk + nicotine is still WAY healthier than formula.

Answer 8

I have always heard that that is a NO NO..when you drink or do drugs or smoke, that still absorbs in your body, and your baby gets that.

Answer 9

Smoking is very bad (I take care of my mother in law who is dying of emphysema, so I see it first hand).  Drinking is also very hard on your health.  However, it is still better to bf than to not bf.  Your friend is struggling, she is caught in raging hormones, addiction and judgement. She can't be happy about what she is doing, but she is doing the best she can with what she has right now.  Help her as much as you can.  Let her bf.  Support her in that, after all, her dr does say it is the best for her baby.  Go to stop smoking web sites to get ideas how to help her.  Rally around her to get her going in the right direction.  Bless you for helping her and her family

Answer 10

Your friend should try and cut down on how much she smokes as this can later on cause ear infections, atasham, Breastfeeding your child two hours after drinking, although it may very well still be in ur friends system and the baby may taste it and put them off. So probs better not to have a drink about 4 hrs before breastfeeding, although i know this cant be the case.  

Answer 11

It is not so much the breast milk that you should be concerned about, but the second hand smoke that the baby is forced to inhale whether it is at home, in the car, etc.

Answer 12

While it is better for her to not be smoking at all, if she were to smoke it is better for baby to be breastfed than formula fed.

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

Answer 13

the best possible thing for you baby is no smoking and no drinking.  wait till you're done breastfeeding if you can.  i know some people drink and breastfeed, but i figure why chance it.  just wait.

Answer 14

Not sure who told you any of this.  While breastfeeding: NO alcohol and NO cigarettes!  It will not pass your system that fast.  You are passing it all onto the baby.  You are better off giving the baby formula instead of harming him/her!!!/

Answer 15

STOP smoking for her...and the baby!! ONE, maybe two glasses of good red wine a week,...thats it.

Answer 16

smoking is bad no matter what. but if a women smokes its better that she breastfeed than formula feed