Drinking while breastfeeding?

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A friend of mine mentioned on Myspace she couldn't drink alcohol b/c she was breastfeeding. Maybe I missed that in OB, but is that true?!

(I know a lot of what we drink/consume can end up in breast milk, but I wasn't sure if you can end up with a drunk baby or something!)

Dr Hale is on my (very short) list of heroes. :bowingpur

I use his book ALL THE TIME.

Recently learned from him that a CT scan c contrast is not an automatic ticket to pump & dump. :up:

Hey, that's great to know! That question comes up from time to time (I'm in med-surg, CT-Land). Never had a good answer on that. Do you happen to know if it matters if it's oral or IV, or if there's a time frame that IS needed to P&D?

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Grapes don't contain ANY alcohol, the alcohol in wine (and other alcoholic drinks) comes from the fermentation process. I'm a nanny for a 14-month old and she LOVES grapes. I take the skin off and cut them into tiny pieces and she can't seem to get enough. If there was any alcohol in grapes, her mom (who has an MD and a PhD) definitely wouldn't let me give them to her!

Ah yes, I was thinking the same thing! I think apples fall into the fermentation-makes-alcohol category too. Not about to give up apples for the kiddies, LOL, but I saw something on tv about how hard cider is made. Not your Mama's apple juice ;)

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Specializes in Community, OB, Nursery.
Hey, that's great to know! That question comes up from time to time (I'm in med-surg, CT-Land). Never had a good answer on that. Do you happen to know if it matters if it's oral or IV, or if there's a time frame that IS needed to P&D?

Depends on what contrast is used, I guess - in my lady's case it was Omnipaque, which is generally considered compatible with breastfeeding. She got it IV.

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Specializes in ER.
MassEd, what about all of the info linked to that clearly states that once alcohol is metabolized by the body, it no longer remains in the milk?

was this not already addressed, the issue is how much and when should you continue after imbibing?.... I thought this point was moot...

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Specializes in ER.
Can you post a link to a source that recommends dumping breastmilk while on antibiotics? In 11 years of professional practice, and 3 years of nursing my own babies, I have never encountered a patient (myself included) on an antibiotic that was contra-indicated with breastfeeding.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21308045/

Though it depends on the antibiotic prescribed, if it is safe for baby, as this link illustrates. I took an antibiotic for Mastitis while nursing and could not continue to breastfeed until completion of it (was my MD's recommendation). (Of course the name escapes me since it has been more than a few years, but it was quite a bad infection.)

I did find another interesting resource for this topic (and many others) as well.

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/2/t028500.asp

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Specializes in ER.
That doesn't just happen because someone's drunk.

... drunk and stupid is more like it :chuckle

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Specializes in ER.
Alcohol is not a necessity. Just like giving it up while pregnant (please GOD don't anyone argue that one), abstaining from alcohol while breastfeeding isn't perhaps necessary (we can argue semantics all day) but for pete's sake, if you're not sure, don't do it!! How hard is that? If you can't abstain from drinking for 9-18 months, you should seriously think about your relationship with alcohol.

Not at all like driving, IMHO, because driving has become a necessary risk in many cases.

Maybe this is because I don't drink and I refuse to breastfeed. Ever.

just a question, why such an aversion to breasfeeding, ever? My sister is the same way... I'm just wondering why....

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Specializes in ER.
Alcohol is not a necessity. Just like giving it up while pregnant (please GOD don't anyone argue that one), abstaining from alcohol while breastfeeding isn't perhaps necessary (we can argue semantics all day) but for pete's sake, if you're not sure, don't do it!! How hard is that? If you can't abstain from drinking for 9-18 months, you should seriously think about your relationship with alcohol.

Not at all like driving, IMHO, because driving has become a necessary risk in many cases.

Maybe this is because I don't drink and I refuse to breastfeed. Ever.

that is a great point, driving (either private or public transportation) is a necessary (and unavoidable) risk - becoming pregnant and nursing is a choice.

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Specializes in ER.
sorry, didn't realise i was back at school, writing a paper and needing to provide references for comments that i make. an opinion is just that, but when you stand on your professional haunches, it should be with some validity, thus the reference indication. nor did i realise that i am not allowed to voice an opinion. did anyone say you couldn't voice an opinion?? nuh uh.anyway, as for that reference, in his book 'the ultimate breast-feeding book of answers, dr.newman states that the restrictive nature is one of the main reasons women give up breastfeeding. unfortantly, i can't find the quote online but this the nearest to it i can find. sorry! do i get an f?!

'experts like dr. jack newman, author of the ultimate breast-feeding book of answers ([color=#3366cc]compare prices) are working hard to dispel these myths. nursing while you are drunk or frequently nursing when you've been drinking -- those are problems. but, according to newman, "reasonable alcohol intake should not be discouraged at all ... prohibiting alcohol is another way we make life unnecessarily restrictive for nursing mothers."

http://babyparenting.about.com/od/breastfeeding/f/pumpdump.htm

more from dr.newmanin an interview with glob

eandmail.com:

kelly drennan, toronto: what is your position on drinking and breastfeeding? motherrisk has a chart on their site which states on average that women should wait two hours before the alcohol leaves their bloodstream before nursing, and that the pump and dump method does not work.

jack newman: i think that motherrisk's position is neo-puritanical. the amount of alcohol in the milk is very small after a drink or two, much less than you would find in de-alcoholized beer. in most provinces, you are considered too drunk to drive if you have 0.08 per cent alcohol in your blood. if you have that amount in your blood, you have that amount in your milk. that's nothing. i don't understand motherrisk's position. they are willing to tell mothers they can take all sorts of other drugs while breastfeeding (quite rightly) and are squeamish about alcohol.

the issue has been, since op, the amount of etoh and when to breastfeed. not whether or not one should drink alcohol. also, what if the woman is drinking over the course of a few hours? it's applicable then to provide the information on pump and dump and when to resume breastfeeding. and exactly how does the pump and dump method not work? that's a ridiculous statement, and it doesn't matter if this dr. newman wrote it. it does work, as i had implemented it many times. if you want a night out and plan to be intoxicated, you pump when you're engorged, and dump it. the baby can have previously pumped milk or formula, whichever.

on to another post... this seems played out by now.

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