"He is either gonna drink, or he won't.... what are YOU gonna do?"

glad lee · ~*Service Worker*~

alcoholism & breastfeeding

rehprof · ~*Service Worker*~

As an avid advocate of breast feeding, I have to say that alcohol and breastfeeding don't go together.

Alcohol readily crosses into breastmilk...I think the amount can vary depending on the amount consumed by mom, how much time has passed between consumption and breast feeding etc. An occasional exposure is one thing, but an alcoholic mom will regularly be dosing her child with booze. NO amount of alcohol is safe for a developing, unmyelinated brain.

-- Edited by rehprof on Tuesday 14th of February 2012 04:18:52 PM

canadianguy · ~*Service Worker*~

Hi All.... was wondering if I could get some information from the larger group regarding an issue that I didn't have to go through...

This couple had a baby in early January - a healthy baby boy. Unknown to any of us, it appears that the mom is an alcoholic, and/or suffering from post-partum, or both... bottom line is she is getting drunk, while breastfeeding her newborn. She is also producing and freezing additional breast milk for future use, but it is my belief that this is also tainted with alcohol.

I tried going online for more information, Google'ing "alcholism and breast feeding", but the majority of the articles are about moderate drinking, and (surprisingly to me) they say although it's not good, it's not horribly bad....

Does anyone out there have any more experience with this, and/or point me towards some articles, more specifically related to heavy drinking & breast feeding?

Thanks

Tom

stephaniej · Senior Member

I found this article:

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=7931777#.TzrA1lxrOZg

Also, perhaps contact La Leche League, although my experience is that some chapters are militantly pro-breastfeeding.

maryjane · ~*Service Worker*~

I looked on the La Leche web site. They have some very interesting reading. The alcohol definitely goes into the milk and is harmful to the little child's liver.

One other thing that jumped out to me was that the smell of the milk changed with the alcohol and all the babies didn't like it and drank less. So there was less nutrition going into the baby because of that.

Also, it didn't make sense to "pump and dump" because as the level of alcohol in the mom went down, the level in the milk went down by itself. It simply wasn't absorbed into the milk. (They were talking about the occasional glass of wine, not an alcoholic).

Another bad thing for alcoholics was that booze caused the level of oxytocin, which causes the "let-down" of the milk into the milk ducts, to lower in the mom's blood, so she will not have as much milk.

As you can tell, it is not a good idea to drink and breastfeed. Oh, I remember the broccoli!!!! strawberries did it too!

Lindaoakford · ~*Service Worker*~

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM198908173210703

http://www.drugs.com/breastfeeding/alcohol.html

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2761576

Some of the studies I read suggest the milk level mimicks the blood alcohol level of the nursing mother about an hour after ingestion
So I guess it is dose dependent in so far as the level of the mothers blood alcohol regardless of alcoholism or social consumption.

Adult metabolism of alcohol is approximately 1 ounce in 3 hours, so mothers who ingest alcohol in moderate amounts can generally return to breastfeeding as soon as they feel neurologically normal. Chronic or heavy consumers of alcohol should not breastfeed. Can alcohol abuse affect a breastfed baby?
Yes. Alcohol abuse (excessive drinking) by the mother can result in slow weight gain or failure to thrive in her baby. The let-down of a mother who abuses alcohol may be affected by her alcohol consumption, and she may not breastfeed enough. The baby may sleep through breastfeedings, or may not suck effectively leading to decreased milk intake. The baby may even suffer from delayed motor development. If you are concerned that you or someone you know is drinking alcohol excessively, call your doctor

taken from http://www.llli.org/faq/alcohol.html

This article isn't quite right for your needs but you may be able to peruse the journal more
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1097/01.ALC.0000145691.81233.FA/abstract

While the effects of drinking alcohol on breastfeeding are unclear, it is known that alcohol freely passes into breast milk. During the first years of a baby's life, the brain is still developing at a very rapid rate. It is possible that heavy drinking can affect a baby's brain development. Alcohol can also disturb a baby's sleep pattern and reduce the mothers milk supply.
Taken from http://www.thewomens.org.au/Alcohol

http://www.babycareadvice.com/babycare/general_help/article.php?id=81
Read down after the number of hours post drinking it is safe to express milk or feed

This study just helps to understand any difference in feeding responses, it is NOT due to the flavour of alcohol in the milk
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9194908

This is not breastfeeding related, but an article she may actually find as a motivator to address her drinking perhaps
http://www.parentdish.com/2010/12/16/parents-alcohol-consumption-could-contribute-to-infant-deaths/

See if you can download the full text from this..... http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/722441?dopt=Abstract

Look through the references on this article
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/101/5/e2.full#ref-12

NOt sure if I have helped or confused the issue, but its food for thought pardon the pun. It was good for me to have a look around, this is my job after all.... I am currently developing a course on alcohol use in pregnancy so this just got me started on some further research.

lacewing · Veteran Member

Perhaps google information from 'Midwives' - Natural Birthing Techniques and all that organic/holistic stuff. I know they would have articles of everything under the sun when it comes to pregnancy, birth, babies and aftercare.

I smoked while pregnant and also drank tons of coffee - although it is always advised to not do so, my midwife informed me that my child would go through withdrawals prior to birth if I 'cut down or even quit altogether - the lesser of two evils and all that...we discussed at length the pro's and con's of all good/bad and indifferent issues before, during and after pregnancy and birth - including alcohol and breastfeeding.

I hope you find what you are looking for and that this mom is willing to listen...

Good Luck!

~!~

Breakingfree · ~*Service Worker*~

Sounds terrible to me as a Mother who breast fed my kids! I have no articles for you, but hope you find them supporting not giving a baby tainted milk.

The material presented here is not Al-Anon Conference Approved Literature. It is a method to exchange information, ideas, feelings, problems and solutions on a personal level.

"He is either gonna drink, or he won't.... what are YOU gonna do?"