Drinking alcohol whilst breastfeeding

I’m still pregnant so will say what I heard from other mothers and doctors. Alcohol will not benefit for your milk, but from mothers who breastfed after drinking they say that babies just sleep better. I think that the best is to freeze some milk before and do some prep milk if not enough.

I'll be honest, I've had a drink a couple of times for special occasions. I've done it so it's low percentage, never spirits (i love a vodka too!) Never more than 1 drink, not when it's near her next feed and always back up milk defrosted just case. I also make sure that it's on a night when her dad is there, never by myself as you sleep heavier (Whether it's 1 or 20) and never have her asleep in my bed. I read research that states if you drink the equivalent to 1 drink every night for 7 days (whether all in one go or over a week) that's when it'll start affecting milk. I have also seen research that says the opposite whereby the babies digestive system can be affected by 1 drink straight away There's a lot of conflicting research about everything to do with babies so I would say (and people may not like it) that as long as you and your baby are safe in the environment that you are in then I don't see any harm in .

Generally, moderate alcohol consumption by a breastfeeding mother (up to 1 standard drink per day) is not known to be harmful to the infant, especially if the mother waits at least 2 hours after a single drink before nursing. This is from NHS

I’ve read and been advised that you treat it like drinking and driving. One drink, if it doesn’t make you feel woozy, then its very minimal the amount that is in your milk (because your alcohol blood level is so low, and you use blood to make milk). If you are worried just pump before and give baby that!

I was exclusively pumping and when I posted this question people recommended drinking whiles breastfeeding/pumping as it wouldn’t be in the milk then, but if not it’s recommended wait 2 hours per drink if your having a couple of drinks, but if your thinking of going out and having a night out then I would wait 24 hours just to be safe, It says online though if you can find your child you can feed your child. If you look on my profile though, the link to my post about this is on there so you can look at some of my comments if your unsure still x

So your breastmilk is made of blood, this means the level of alcohol in your blood, is the same as your breastmilk. Its minuscule. By the time your baby drinks it and absorbs it it’s basically the same as a shot of vodka in a swimming pool. Its negligible. If you can find your baby you can feed your baby. The risk of drinking and breastfeeding mostly comes from your actual ability to take care of baby I.e don’t drop them and don’t fall asleep with them. As long as you feel like you’re safe to hold your baby you’re okay. And please don’t fall asleep/ co sleep with baby after drinking! You can definitely enjoy a couple of drinks! Warning though you may be a lightweight 😂