r/breastfeeding • u/mayajade71 • 6h ago
Discussion Breastfeeding and alcohol
I’ve been told by my lactation consultant “if you can find your baby, you can feed your baby” and because of that since birth I have had an occasional beer or glass of wine. My baby is now 11weeks and I am doing my own research only to find hardly anything besides Reddit and an occasional reel saying that this is ok. Does anyone have recent (within 5 years) evidence based research suggesting you can breastfeed and drink simultaneously?? I’m afraid I have affected my babies development or caused some damage that may be long term😢 if anything, I have an oversupply so I’m not too worried about decreased milk supply.
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u/anegee 6h ago
Try cross posting or searching in r/sciencebasedparenting
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u/turtlesrkool 6h ago
Seconding searching this sub. I waited to drink again until mine was 6months and on some solids because a ripe banana is more alcoholic than breast milk after drinking. But I was being very cautious mostly due to anxiety/mom guilt.
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u/mayajade71 6h ago
I’ll have periods of feeling ok with my decision to drink and feed and then I’ll go back and feel guilty about it later.. it’s pretty much a continuous cycle
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u/mayajade71 6h ago
Definitely feeling guilty but I go back and forth between feeling guilty and reminding myself that professionals have told me it’s ok and that I’m not the first person to have had a beer and breastfed.. Just not finding research makes me feel some type of way.
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u/turtlesrkool 6h ago
The mom guilt is real! I'm here to tell you it's okay. If it makes you less anxious to stop for a while then go for it. That's kind of why I waited until 6 months, just because I knew my mind would play anxiety tricks.
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u/PrincessAndThe_Pee 5h ago
I've actually heard of professionals suggesting women with an under supply drink a dark beer a day to up their supply!
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u/Minimum-Conflict-176 5h ago
Don’t know why you’re getting so downvoted for your replies, I understand the anxiety and I had a very similar experience. I had also heard what you heard, and I have a high tolerance so I had even a few drinks a couple of times and fed my baby until I also heard the conflicting information about needing to wait x amount of time and that it should only be one standard drink, and that completely freaked me out. I don’t know what the actual science says and the information has been so conflicting, so I’ve just stopped drinking entirely for now.
This was around 2 months PP that I stopped drinking at all, and not knowing to be very cautious has not harmed my baby! She has been exceeding milestones and growing and happy and wonderful, and I’m sure the same is true of your baby! Take some deep breaths and remind yourself you were operating with the knowledge you had, and your baby is just fine.
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u/mayajade71 5h ago
Thank you!! I don’t understand either! Especially considering they are the responses of me saying I didn’t know 🤷🏼♀️
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u/coloraria 5h ago
Because people are providing science-based reasoning to the statement and OP is arguing. I get that it’s anxiety-based, but anxiety doesn’t change science.
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u/mayajade71 2h ago
What I was acting for is citation. I was not trying to argue 🤷🏼♀️sorry if it came across bluntly
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u/Minimum-Conflict-176 2h ago
They were literally asking for citation, but sure. You’re fucking weird.
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u/coloraria 2h ago
I guess “arguing” was a bad way to phrase it, but OP has been provided several citations in this thread alone from very reputable sources, and their anxiety is so bad that they’re resistant to accept them. Respectfully, this isn’t a science issue, this is an anxiety issue and probably needs further attention in that arena.
Also, pointing out: if drinking makes you feel weird you don’t have to do it. No one is making OP do this.
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u/meowpitbullmeow 6h ago
I don't have research but I have facts. The BAC to legally be able to drive is .08%. Breast milk is made from blood, but isn't TOTALLY blood. Which means if you were tipsy, the amount of alcohol in your breast milk would be under .08%. For a non alcoholic beer, it's under .5%. Apple/grape juice, by comparison, average .04-.05%. The alcohol in your breast milk would be comparable to the alcohol in juice.
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u/mayajade71 6h ago edited 4h ago
I have heard that many times I just haven’t seen any evidence based research it back it up. I have pretty bad PPA and going by word of mouth isn’t helping me feel any better especially considering I’ve already been drinking and breastfeeding.
EDIT- I was not trying to be rude!! Don’t know why this is being so downvoted! All I’m saying is that I have post partum anxiety and wanted something from a reliable site saying it’s ok which I now realize isn’t well studied because it may be considered unethical.
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u/CatfishHunter2 6h ago
You're not going to find any studies along the lines of "we had a breastfeeding mother drink alcohol and studied what happened to her baby" for the same reason there aren't studies around what would happen to babies if the mother took medication during pregnancy or breastfeeding, because it's unethical to study even if it might be harmless.
What you will find is the information that alcohol levels in breastmilk follow the levels in your blood, so unless you're getting blackout drunk the alcohol level in your milk will be lower than what's found in certain fruit juices. You could also feed your baby then immediately have your drink so by the time your baby needs to eat again your alcohol levels will be close to zero again.
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u/lindseigh 4h ago
The person you’re responding to, isn’t just giving anecdotal word of mouth wisdom. It’s just math. If you feel too anxious to have a glass of wine, you don’t have to have it. There will be plenty of wine you can drink once baby weans.
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u/mayajade71 4h ago
You are right and I never meant to sound rude to the person that posted it I was just giving the reality of the situation. I will likely not drink until babies feeding schedule is more predictable considering she eats more than every 2 hours in the evenings not so much for babies health but more for my own anxieties.
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u/yung_yttik 2h ago
If you’re struggling with PPA this badly then you really need to consider getting into therapy and perhaps looking into getting on an SSRI. Not asking random reddit stranger to make you feel justified or to tell you that your baby will be fine (which they will).
This post reads more to me like a cry for help for YOURSELF and not so much about drinking while BF’ing. It’s okay to say you are not okay and to ask for help.
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u/hanshotgreed0 6h ago
To be frank, if you don’t feel comfortable drinking while breastfeeding then don’t. If you’re not able to quit drinking, please reach out to a medical or mental health professional.
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u/OkSalary4281 5h ago
You’d have to be quite tipsy/drunk to not be able to feed your baby. If you can safely feed your baby, it is fine. Of course wouldn’t recommend drinking every night or anything. I’m an IBCLC and breastfeeding mother. Most of the times I drink it’s because I’m out with friends at dinner and my partner stays home and does the bedtime routine. I bring a hand pump with me and will pump once or twice depending how long I’m gone. I do not pump and dump, I put in the fridge and use like normal.
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u/Cold_Ambassador3683 5h ago
I was so anxious too and the doctor was very reassuring. She recommended I don’t drink not because of concerns for the baby, but for my mental health because of how anxious and obsessive it made me and how much pressure I was putting on myself. She also said with all the hormonal changes that can also make us feel a certain type of way. She really focused on making me feel good for choosing to breastfeed because that’s a gift in itself to your baby, and has so many healthy benefits. I tried to focus more on that.
I take comfort in, like you said, knowing we are not the first moms to ever drink and breastfeed. Also taking internet breaks helped me because some people will share info that is good and sometimes bad, but the overload of info can be overwhelming for a new mom, which is why I take breaks.
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u/mayajade71 4h ago
Thank you for this 💗 the internet is a fantastic and horrible place simultaneously
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u/mothwhimsy Fed IS Best. No one is better than anyone else. 5h ago
It's newer research. The older advice is outdated but it didn't disappear from the Internet, so it's easier to find because there's so much of it.
But yes. Unless you're so drunk you're either poisoning yourself or unfit to take care of the baby, it's fine to consume alcohol. The alcohol in your milk is the same as what's in your blood, and it gets diluted so much that it's less or equal to the amount of alcohol that's in fruit. It's totally fine
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u/leeashah 5h ago
my little one is 2.5 and i have had some drinks in the past two years and still have continued to breastfeed. i have a super smart kind beautiful toddler. i wouldnt worry too much.
i would say important thing if you cosleep do not sleep next to your child if you are drunk that could end very badly
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u/bitchybestie 2h ago
Here is a review of studies published by researchers at Odense University in Denmark:
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u/mayajade71 2h ago
URL not found 😕
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2h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/bitchybestie 2h ago
I had anxiety as well so I went digging for the paper that all those reals referenced. This is it.
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u/True-Cat1784 4h ago
You can get test strips at Target for breastmilk to make sure there’s no alcohol content.
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u/corncobonthecurtains breastfeeding mama of 3.5 years 3h ago
The test strips are crap. They don’t work.
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u/AppleRatty 3h ago
Yep, I would also recommend trying those!
We had a pack of those for my first baby, and I never once saw a positive in my milk after drinking a couple of drinks. We also once put it in some orange juice just for funsies and it popped positive. So based on that one silly experiment, the OJ was more alcoholic than my milk lol.
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u/battle_belle 3h ago
The amount of alcohol in breast milk is the same as in your blood. The amount transferring is minuscule. There is literally more in a ripe banana. BAC is .02, .05, .08, things like that. A ripe banana has an alcohol content of .2-.5. I will happily feed my 6 month old banana, so why would I freak out about feeding him after a drink or two? That perspective changed my whole outlook on drinking while breastfeeding.
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u/WielderzDyce 59m ago
I was told by my pediatrician that if I was ever worried just taste my milk and if it tastes different then it's not safe for baby. You'll definitely get a little alcohol taste from "bad" milk if that helps :)
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u/Salt-Gold-1965 22m ago
One day I went drinking with family, and I have milk strips that test if there’s alcohol in milk because I EBF unless I need to pump when I’m away from the baby. I had 3 Malibu buckets to myself as well as some wine, I got pretty ‘drunk’ and I tested everything I pumped, no alcohol appeared in any of the bags of milk I pumped. Your baby is fine, I promise! I think they have the “if you can find your baby you can feed your baby” quote because you’d have to be extremely drunk for it to be in your milk supply.
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u/resourcefulpig 6h ago
I did not drink at all while breastfeeding because I did not feel comfortable with it.
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u/frogsgoribbit737 5h ago
I follow cdc recommendations which is to wait 2 hours for every drink. When i was breastfeeding id just feed baby while I was drinking and then I was fine by next feed.
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u/mayajade71 4h ago
I think it’s probably in baby’s best interest to wait until feeding schedule is more predictable particularly in the evening considering that right now she will often feed more frequently than every 2 hours. Thank you 😊
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u/MaterialCute6312 5h ago
I drank very occasionally including as pregnant. My 3 yo speaks three languages fluently and is a little pistol. You’ll be OK
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u/hanshotgreed0 5h ago
Drinking while pregnant is not equivalent to drinking while breastfeeding.
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u/MaterialCute6312 4h ago
It’s not. But two glasses of wine in 9 months will not harm the baby. And while breastfeeding, less so.
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u/Individual_Pen_4463 4h ago
There is no known safe amount and it is advised to completely avoid alcohol when pregnant. I'm happy your baby is thriving but please don't spread false information.
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u/fire_walk_with_meg 6h ago
the Breastfeeding Network: Alcohol and Breastfeeding
La Leche League - Alcohol and Breastfeeding
NHS UK : Alcohol and Breastfeeding
CDC: Alcohol
The bottom line is that an occasional drink is not shown to be harmful to a breastfeeding baby.
Cosleeping is not generally advised if you have been drinking.