Reading time:4 mins. Breastfeeding and alcohol is a sensitive topic. Of course, it’s understandable that after abstaining from alcohol during pregnancy, many mothers would like to enjoy a glass of wine, G&T, or beer from time to time after giving birth. But can you drink alcohol while breastfeeding?
Alcohol enters breast milk after about 30-60 minutes via the bloodstream. The amount of alcohol in breast milk depends on which alcoholic beverage it is, how much was consumed and your body weight.
According to the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists, it’s safest to entirely abstain from drinking while breastfeeding, as regularly drinking alcohol and breastfeeding may affect your baby’s development. However, if you do choose to drink every now and then, it’s safest to drink less than 14 units per week and to spread alcoholic drinks evenly throughout the week.1
When considering drinking alcohol and breastfeeding, it’s worth waiting until breastfeeding is properly established (which could take months). That’s because if you’ve just started breastfeeding, your baby probably has to be breastfed more often, and you’re still working out your breastfeeding schedule.
Unlike during pregnancy, when drinking alcohol is not allowed as this can harm the development of the child, an occasional drink while breastfeeding is unlikely to harm your baby. However, it’s advisable to adhere to the following rules:
Although we’ve established an answer to ‘can you drink alcohol when breastfeeding?’ in terms of your baby’s development, there are important drinking and breastfeeding rules to do with your baby’s safety to consider.
You should never care for your child under the influence of alcohol – provide suitable childcare instead. The NHS states that if you’ve drunk any alcohol you should never share a bed or sofa with your baby, as this has a strong association with sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
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Generally, it’s recommended to breastfeed your child and/or use a pump before drinking any alcohol. Breastfeeding mothers often find a pump useful in many situations. The Philips Avent breast pump range is designed for comfortable upright pumping and has an array of settings.
You can then leave the milk in the fridge, ready for your baby’s next feed, bridging the time until your milk’s alcohol level drops. The Philips Avent Natural baby bottle has a soft teat that mimics the feel of a breast, so it makes the switch between breast and bottle as smooth as possible for your baby.
Some believe expressing will help clear the alcohol from your breast milk quicker, but that isn’t the case. That level will fall as the level of alcohol in your body falls. Expressing milk can, however, help with your comfort level.
If you have to skip a feeding session because you have recently been drinking alcohol, and breastfeeding is off the cards but your breasts are starting to get uncomfortably full, you can express milk to relieve the discomfort. You must then pour it away.
To avoid exposing your baby to alcohol in breast milk, the NHS advises avoiding breastfeeding for 2 to 3 hours for every drink you consume. This allows time for the alcohol to leave your breast milk.2 But the answer to how long does alcohol stay in breast milk isn’t entirely straightforward, as it depends on variables such as the type of alcohol and how much you weigh.
Generally speaking, it takes about 2 hours for the body to break down 10g of alcohol. A small glass of wine contains about 9g of alcohol, while a bottle of beer has about 13g of alcohol content. So while this guideline offers a ballpark figure for how long to wait to breastfeed after drinking, there’s more to it. When it comes down to the question, ‘can you drink while breastfeeding?’, it’s ultimately your decision. However, it’s important to use alcohol responsibly and to arrange for someone else to take care of your child if you do. Just as you should avoid certain foods during breastfeeding, it’s best to abstain from alcohol too. Sources:
Alcohol levels depend not only on the amount consumed, but also on body weight. A woman who weighs 60kg must wait about 2 hours until 10g of alcohol has broken down. At 70kg, 10g can degrade in 1h 45min. Nevertheless, you shouldn’t drink more than two alcoholic beverages and also not with great frequency.
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