Here are a few facts about breastfeeding and
drinking alcohol.
In all circumstances we DO NOT recommend
drinking alcohol while pregnant or breastfeeding.
One alcoholic drink consumed over an hour takes two or three
hours for the female liver to process.
Three to four drinks consumed over an hour would take the liver
six to 12 hours to detoxify!
The concentration of alcohol in breast milk is the same or
slightly higher than the level in mother's blood
If you do decide to drink while breastfeeding, here are some
tips for minimizing the impact of alcohol on your breast fed
baby:
- Always drink slowly and space out your drinks and the time you
drink them
- Drink plenty of water, eat before and during the time you drink
alcohol
- Limit the number of drinks you have
- Choose low alcohol drinks
- Try diluting your drinks and sipping them
- Beforehand, you can express breast milk with a breast
pump, and store that milk to use while you are drinking,
rather than breastfeeding while drinking.
- Feed baby with milk you have expressed off before you had a
drink.
- If you have been drinking, and are feeding baby with previously
expressed breast milk, you may need to express milk to relieve some
engorgement. Express and discard this at it will be "contaminated"
with alcohol this is known as Pump and Dump. (This
suggestion is for your comfort only, 'Pumping and Dumping' like
this does not remove alcohol from your body)
- Wait at least two to three hours after consuming the last
drink, before breastfeeding your baby at your breast.