less than one glass of red wine then feeding right away

hello, i just had less than a glass of red wine and then my new 4 week old baby boy ate from me. Is he gonna be ok? my husband told me a little red wine was fine once in a blue moon, but now that i fed him i got nervous that its dangerous for him. please help.... i am not a drinker...

[melimeli]

the bfing consultant said it is better to nurse and bf at the same time hahaha.. takes a while to get into your milk...  it is the next feeding you have to worry about... better just not to drink..

[AnnieBrooke]

As melimeli says, it's better to drink the wine and nurse right then than to have the wine in your bloodstream when you nurse.  It does take a little while to get into your milk.  All in all, I wouldn't make a habit of it (I didn't drink at all when breastfeeding) but you didn't hurt anything doing it one time.  The main thing is to be very conscious of what you are putting in your body, in other words, not just doing it thoughtlessly or because someone pressed a drink on you.  There's plenty of time for wine when you're not breastfeeding.

[mami1323]

You can pump and dump.  Meaning, right before you breastfeed the next feeding, you can pump the milk and dump it.  One glass of wine will not hurt the baby.  They even say you can have one glass while pregnant.  

[melimeli]

make for a nice photo op.. drinking the beer while breastfeeding.. might not get you the mom of the year award.. but they say it is safer if you do it at the same time hahah

[Ashelen]

just to chip in about being careful what you put in your body.... be aware that what you eat changes the flavor of your breastmilk and some babies will reject feedings based on the flavor of the milk...so if you've eaten/drank something recently and your baby seems less than enthusiastic about feeding time, first rule out any illness or obvious discomfort...then consider what you've ingested and what flavor it might produce :)

[pertykitty]

actually pumping and dumping wont work, it stays in the bloodstream same as the milk.  so if its in your blood and you dump milk, its still in the milk. one of those confusing things regarding bfing isnt it? lol

your baby is still so new.  you dont know how even a small amount of alcohol will effect baby.  also after not drinking for 9 months+ you might become a bit woozier than you expect.  you dont want to go to sleep or trip while holding your baby.  

i know its been talked about so many times.  lc have said for many years to drink a glass to help with milk let down and to relax mom.  i suppose this is more matter of opinion from me but i think some great relaxing music (find some new age massage type music), use aromatherapy(lavender can be a dream!), and learn to relax on your own.  you will learn over the years with screaming kids in the car, tantrums in the store, you need to learn to relax all on your own lol.  

dont feel bad, its not something you have to spend your days regretting, just think about what is most important to you and your baby. congrats on your new bundle!

[mami1323]

Oh yeah, wow, you learn something new every day.  Thanks perty since the next time I have another one I want to attempt to breastfeed.  Not that I'm an alchy or anything...lol.

[pertykitty]

lol id love that cold beer right now!!! id love 5 of them and a winning slot machine.  lol  i wouldnt trade with what i have right now, but its been a long time since i had a grown up time!  

[melimeli]

ok here are the facts...

Another point to remember is how long alcohol remains in your breast milk. Alcohol doesn't stay in breast milk - it returns to the bloodstream as mother's blood alcohol level declines. Therefore, pumping and dumping breast milk will not remove the alcohol present, or speed up the process of removing alcohol from breast milk. The only reason a mother should pump and dump would be for her own comfort, when she is waiting for the alcohol in her breast milk to dissipate.

The following advice - La Leche League's THE BREASTFEEDING ANSWER BOOK (pp. 597-598) - explains how long alcohol remains in the mother's system.

"Alcohol passes freely into mother's milk and has been found to peak about 30 to 60 minutes after consumption, 60 to 90 minutes when taken with food. Alcohol also freely passes out of a mother's milk and her system. It takes a 120 pound woman about two to three hours to eliminate from her body the alcohol in one serving of beer or wine...the more alcohol that is consumed, the longer it takes for it to be eliminated. It takes up to 13 hours for a 120 pound woman to eliminate the alcohol from one high-alcohol drink. The effects of alcohol on the breastfeeding baby are directly related to the amount the mother consumes."

But what if a mother drink's too much, or gets tipsy or drunk?

Mothers should refrain from breastfeeding until they are completely sober. Ideally, a mother should plan ahead. If she knows she is going to drink more than 1 to 2 units of alcohol, she is best advised to express her milk and store it in a refridgerator, so this can be fed to the baby later, at a time when her own breast milk still contains too much alcohol. When drinking alcohol, a breastfeeding mother may become intoxicated more quickly than a woman of similar weight and height. Research suggests that when a woman is amenorrheic due to breastfeeding, her estrogen levels are low, which in turn, leads to greater intoxication.

Excessive alcohol consumption whilst breastfeeding can be very harmful to a baby. A baby can suffer the affects of drowsiness, deep sleep, weakness, and abnormal weight gain, as well as retardation of mental and motor development.

It is sometimes believed that drinking encourage milk production. This is wrong. Drinking alcohol inhibits let-down and decreases milk production.

[Athena_M]

Don't drink alcohol when you are nursing.  Everything you put in your body goes to the baby.