Can you drink alcohol while we are breastfeeding?

It is usually recommended not to drink a drop of alcohol during pregnancy, but little is said of alcohol consumption during breastfeeding. Can you drink alcohol moderately while we are breastfeeding or better not drink anything?

When in doubt, it is preferable to avoid consumption, since it has been shown that alcohol is detrimental to the baby's brain development, but there are those who argue that moderate consumption is compatible with breastfeeding.

The effects of alcohol on the breastfed baby are related to the amount the mother drinks and how long she has drunk. As it crosses the placenta during pregnancy, the alcohol level quickly passes into breast milk, but it also drops rapidly because it does not accumulate in the breast. That is, it reaches its maximum level between 30 and 60 minutes after drinking.

If you drink moderately at the end of one shot when it will take about three hours until the next one, the alcohol level will be very low or practically zero. But of course, with a newborn baby and breastfeeding on demand the shots may be less spaced and would not be recommended.

It is not true that some alcoholic beverages such as whiskey and beer favor milk production. On the contrary, a dose of more than 0.5 grams of alcohol per kilo of maternal weight per day can produce sedation and decrease the amount of milk because it inhibits the secretion of prolactin and oxytocin, hormones involved in the production and ejection of the milk

To give us an idea, we talk about a measure that equals 200cc of wine, 500cc of beer or 60cc of liquor for a woman weighing 60 kilos.

Of course, the smell of breast milk is modified. It becomes stronger at the risk of the baby rejecting it.

The Breastfeeding Committee of the Spanish Association of Pediatrics recommends not drinking alcohol for at least the first three months and once this time has elapsed, drink small, sporadic amounts away from the doses. A cane or a glass of wine once or twice a week is a tolerable amount, with no effect on the baby.

For his part, Carlos González in his book "A gift for life" indicates that you should drink large amounts of alcohol and then breastfeed the baby to spend an amount capable of affecting him.

There are mothers who consider stop breastfeeding because they can drink a glass every now and then. Of course, the benefits of breastfeeding are well above the risks of an occasional drink. If it is to take the desire once a week it will not be a great sacrifice to keep you at the recommended levels.

Video: Will Drinking Alcohol While Breastfeeding Harm my Baby?! Diet Debbie (March 2024).