Drinking While Nursing
by Elisa
Sat Mar 08, 2008 at 05:37:01 AM PDT
Wired magazine's "Mr. Know-It-All" recently answered a letter regarding drinking and nursing. "Stressed-out mom of a newborn" has found herself craving cabernet, but she is nursing. Is it safe for her to drink?
Mr. Know-It-All's response:
Caution is certainly called for, as hooch does, indeed, seep into a kid's nutritional supply. The good news is that an occasional glass of wine shouldn't be a problem, as long as you don't have another feeding slated for a while. The effects of liquor vary widely according to a drinker's weight and metabolism, but a general rule of thumb is that the concentration of alcohol in breast milk peaks around 60 minutes after ingestion. Play it safe: Wait two to three hours per drink before nursing Junior.
You want to be extra cautious, however, if your breast monkey is less than 3 months old; the youngest livers have a tough time metabolizing alcohol. It's also prudent to avoid the more potent vintages--zinfandels tend to have a higher percentage of alcohol than Rieslings, for example. Check the label before pouring.
But what if there's a special occasion approaching and you'd like to celebrate with more than one tipple? First off, don't go crazy--breast-feeding with a hangover is as much fun as doing anything else with a hangover. More important, pump plenty of milk in advance, and be prepared to pump and dump--pump milk and throw it away--should your breasts become full before the alcohol clears your system. Milk alcohol level declines at the same rate as blood alcohol level, so whenever you're back to 100 percent sober is when you can safely nurse.
Bottom line: Enjoy a glass of wine, and don't panic. But you should probably wait to really tie one on till after your child has been weaned. Don't worry--at that age, they'll still provide plenty of reasons for you to need a stiff drink.
Makes sense. Then again, occasional -- versus regular -- alcohol consumption is probably a good idea for everyone -- not just nursing mothers.
But, personally, I have never restrained from eating my favorite foods, including spicy or garlicky foods, or even drinking while nursing. While I did wait until my babies were older -- after the 3-month-mark sounds about right -- to have a very occasional glass of wine, I did not see a correlation between what I was eating or drinking and their behavior. Plus, I thought being a parent was hard enough that restricting my diet seemed rather cruel. I needed the calories!
For the record, I am in the process of weaning Eli because DH and I have a trip scheduled next month. It's only for a few days and my MIL will watch the kids. But it will be my first overnight stay without Eli.
She is 11 months old today. I am nursing her once every couple days and supplementing with formula. I actually feel good about it -- not depressed like I did with Ari. She was nursed two more months than Ari, and I am simply relieved to have survived the first year of babyhood. Whew!
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