auzziekat
01-05-2006, 05:01 AM
Hi,
Here is another great article that I found recently that I thought you may all find interesting.
Kathy
Will it harm my breastfeeding baby if I drink wine, beer, or spirits?
That depends on how much and when you drink the alcoholic beverage. Your blood alcohol levels (and the level of alcohol in your milk) will generally be highest one to one and a half hours after your last drink, although that time — and the length of time it takes the alcohol to dissipate from your body — varies from person to person.
The occasional glass of wine or celebratory cocktail doesn't appear to harm a nursing baby or interfere with milk production in the long run. One study found that babies who are exposed regularly (at least daily) to alcohol in their mother's milk during the first three months of life might have a slight but significant slowing of motor development, although another study found no such effect.
Studies do show that a baby drinks less milk if her mother has recently drunk alcohol. And drinking large amounts may make your baby drowsy or sluggish, which could interfere with her sucking ability. Drinking as little as one drink may also affect your milk letdown reflex (your breasts' natural ability to produce milk). And heavy drinking may impair your ability to care for your child. One study also found that babies slept for significantly shorter periods of time in a three and a half hour period after nursing if their mothers had had an alcoholic beverage. For these reasons, the Drug Information Service at the University of California, San Diego, lists alcohol as a potentially hazardous drug on its drug and breast milk interactions chart.
If you're going to enjoy an occasional alcoholic beverage or have more than one drink, wait at least two hours per drink before nursing your baby to give the alcohol a chance to dissipate. One drink is considered 4 ounces of wine, one beer, or one mixed drink. Alcohol isn't stored in breast milk, so "pumping and dumping" (using a breast pump to empty your breasts and then throwing out the collected milk) serves no purpose. And be sure to down a nonalcoholic drink for every cocktail you quaff, to ward off dehydration.
Will a glass of beer a day increase my milk supply?
No scientific evidence supports the popular wisdom that drinking beer boosts milk production or makes better milk, says Julie Mennella, a researcher at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia who studies alcohol's affect on breast milk. In fact, no one has conducted any research into this area.
In the late 1800s, a major U.S. brewery pushed a certain beer blend as a "tonic" for breastfeeding women, but researchers now know that a nutritious diet — not barley malt and hops — is the key to a plentiful milk supply. While scientists have found that beer does increase levels (in men and women) of a hormone necessary for milk production, beer still hasn't been proven to help a nursing mother produce more milk. Nonalcoholic beer is just as effective in this regard as regular beer, and is preferred if you want to try using it to increase your milk supply.
Here is another great article that I found recently that I thought you may all find interesting.
Kathy
Will it harm my breastfeeding baby if I drink wine, beer, or spirits?
That depends on how much and when you drink the alcoholic beverage. Your blood alcohol levels (and the level of alcohol in your milk) will generally be highest one to one and a half hours after your last drink, although that time — and the length of time it takes the alcohol to dissipate from your body — varies from person to person.
The occasional glass of wine or celebratory cocktail doesn't appear to harm a nursing baby or interfere with milk production in the long run. One study found that babies who are exposed regularly (at least daily) to alcohol in their mother's milk during the first three months of life might have a slight but significant slowing of motor development, although another study found no such effect.
Studies do show that a baby drinks less milk if her mother has recently drunk alcohol. And drinking large amounts may make your baby drowsy or sluggish, which could interfere with her sucking ability. Drinking as little as one drink may also affect your milk letdown reflex (your breasts' natural ability to produce milk). And heavy drinking may impair your ability to care for your child. One study also found that babies slept for significantly shorter periods of time in a three and a half hour period after nursing if their mothers had had an alcoholic beverage. For these reasons, the Drug Information Service at the University of California, San Diego, lists alcohol as a potentially hazardous drug on its drug and breast milk interactions chart.
If you're going to enjoy an occasional alcoholic beverage or have more than one drink, wait at least two hours per drink before nursing your baby to give the alcohol a chance to dissipate. One drink is considered 4 ounces of wine, one beer, or one mixed drink. Alcohol isn't stored in breast milk, so "pumping and dumping" (using a breast pump to empty your breasts and then throwing out the collected milk) serves no purpose. And be sure to down a nonalcoholic drink for every cocktail you quaff, to ward off dehydration.
Will a glass of beer a day increase my milk supply?
No scientific evidence supports the popular wisdom that drinking beer boosts milk production or makes better milk, says Julie Mennella, a researcher at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia who studies alcohol's affect on breast milk. In fact, no one has conducted any research into this area.
In the late 1800s, a major U.S. brewery pushed a certain beer blend as a "tonic" for breastfeeding women, but researchers now know that a nutritious diet — not barley malt and hops — is the key to a plentiful milk supply. While scientists have found that beer does increase levels (in men and women) of a hormone necessary for milk production, beer still hasn't been proven to help a nursing mother produce more milk. Nonalcoholic beer is just as effective in this regard as regular beer, and is preferred if you want to try using it to increase your milk supply.