Is it okay to drink beer while breastfeeding?

Question

I was at my sister in laws house last night and she was breastfeeding her 5 day old daughter and asked her husband to get her a beer, so he did..

And i was sitting there thinking, she shouldnt be drinking if shes breastfeeding!!

Is it okay? or was i right in thinking it was wrong?

Answer 1

If she drinks alchohol then she has to "pump and dump" her milk for the following several hours, so that the alcohol doesn't get into the baby.  That would be very dangerous.

Answer 2

It's okay as long as you don't get drunk. 1 or 2 beers won't hurt anything.  

Answer 3

No  it's never o.k. to do this!  She should just chill on the drinking or go to bottle feeding with formula!  *SHEESH*  what people would do for some booze...

Answer 4

you are wrong.....it is ok to have a drink every now and then.  It takes about 2 hours for each drink to metabolize out of your system.  Here is some information on it.

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

Edit.....I really love it when people give uneducated answers.  Do some research.....less then 2% gets into your milk and if you wait 2 hours the alcohol is out of your system.  Educate yourself before you answer.  There is no need to pump and dump except for mom relief....you can't pump the alcohol out.

Answer 5

wow. how times have changed. I was glancing over the other answers and was amazed.  Back in the early 70's when I had my children, a short beer was often perscribed as a mild relaxant for mothers who were having trouble nursing.  Beer was considered helpful to milk production as well. I do agree to no alcohol while nursing because it may harm the child or at worst, make the little bugger gassy and crying half the night, neither of which is a good thing.

Answer 6

its wrong the alcohol will get in the best milk. If she had one in like a month then there is no real freak out but its still not good to do. If she wants to drink one night what she has to do is pump enough milk to feed the kid for like a day and half, then after she drinks she needs to pump all next day to get the alcohol out of the breast milk.  

Answer 7

No it's not okay. If you drink when you breastfeed you have to pump and dump every doctor will tell you that. B/c she is passing that on to the baby

Answer 8

A small amount is okay. 1-2 beers are ok. Then waiting 2-3 hours before feeding. Less then 2% of alcohol gets into the breastmilk.

http://www.breast-feeding-information.co...

Answer 9

Guidelines

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.”

Many experts recommend against drinking more than 1-2 drinks per week.

It is recommended that nursing moms avoid breastfeeding during and for 2-3 hours after drinking (Hale 2002).

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.

Alcohol does not increase milk production, and has been shown to inhibit let-down and decrease milk production (see below).

If you're away from your baby, try to pump as often as baby usually nurses (this is to maintain milk supply, not because of the alcohol). At the very least, pump or hand express whenever you feel uncomfortably full - this will help you to avoid plugged ducts and mastitis.

In general, if you are sober enough to drive, you are sober enough to breastfeed. Less than 2% of the alcohol consumed by the mother reaches her blood and milk. Alcohol peaks in mom's blood and milk approximately 1/2-1 hour after drinking (but there is considerable variation from person to person, depending upon how much food was eaten in the same time period, mom's body weight and percentage of body fat, etc.). Alcohol does not accumulate in breastmilk, but leaves the milk as it leaves the blood; so when your blood alcohol levels are back down, so are your milk alcohol levels.

Always keep in mind the baby's age when considering the effect of alcohol. 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.

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

La Leche League's THE WOMANLY ART OF BREASTFEEDING (p. 328) says:

The effects of alcohol on the breastfeeding baby are directly related to the amount the mother ingests. When the breastfeeding mother drinks occasionally or limits her consumption to one drink or less per day, the amount of alcohol her baby recieves has not been proven to be harmful.

La Leche League's THE BREASTFEEDING ANSWER BOOK (pp. 597-598) says:

Alcohol passes freely into mother's milk and has been found to peak about 30 to 60 minutes after consumption, 60 to 90 minutes when taken with food. Alcohol also freely passes out of a mother's milk and her system. It takes a 120 pound woman about two to three hours to eliminate from her body the alcohol in one serving of beer or wine...the more alcohol that is consumed, the longer it takes for it to be eliminated. It takes up to 13 hours for a 120 pound woman to eliminate the alcohol from one high-alcohol drink. The effects of alcohol on the breastfeeding baby are directly related to the amount the mother consumes

http://llli.org/FAQ/alcohol.html

Answer 10

She should not drink while breastfeeding, the alcohol can get into the breastmilk.

Answer 11

of course a single beer is safe.  

the AAP and the la leche league both say that drinking in small amounts is not dangerous to a baby.  the people who say it isn't safe have nothing but their misconceptions to back them up.  it just goes to show that being an RN doesn't really mean you know jack squat about breastfeeding.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article...

"The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) regards occasional alcohol use as compatible with breastfeeding. Do note the operative word, “occasional”. So, the question is, how much is too much? Well, there are medical recommendations for that, too, although good common sense should come in handy as well.

Less than 2% of the alcohol a mother drinks actually enters the breast milk. If you are planning on having a drink, breastfeed your baby first. After the drink(s), wait a few hours before nursing again. There used to be a term known as the “pump and dump” method. This isn’t necessary, as alcohol doesn’t accumulate in the milk- it leaves the milk as soon as it leaves the bloodstream.

The general idea is that if you are within the legal limit to be driving a vehicle, then breastfeeding your infant should be safe. It really shouldn’t be a common habit, though, as it can reduce your milk supply. Wives’ tales have beer increasing the milk supply, but it simply isn’t true. It should also be stated, because many nursing mothers are co-sleepers, that you should never sleep with your baby in the bed if you have had anything to drink. This could impair your sense of the baby next to you.

Always exhibit good judgment about these situations. If you are going out to have a few drinks and will be away from baby, pump some milk beforehand. That will solve the problem of worrying about too much alcohol in the milk later. Keeping a backup supply of expressed milk in the freezer is always a good idea, just in case an unforeseen situation arises. "

Answer 12

no, she shouldn't be drinking. It can still have an effect on the baby.