Alcohol and sunbeds

[Clarabell1982]

Is it safe to drink alcohol and use sunbeds while breast feeding? Do people express their breast milk before drinking?

If you express your breastmilk before a night out, how long after the night out should u leave it til u re-start your breast feeding?

Is there anything else u can't do while breast feeding?

[Peanuts_Mommy420]

You do NOT need to pump and dump. Alcohol does not stay in your breast milk, just like it does not stay in your blood. The best time to drink (if you're drinking at home) is while nursing because it will not be in your milk while nursing and it will be out of your milk by the next time you nurse. If you are safe to drive, you are safe to nurse. One drink will not affect your milk at all. If you do get wasted, just make sure you you have enough milk pumped already to feed baby, but as soon as you feel sober again, the alcohol is out of your milk. If you are worried, buy the test strips. Never waste your milk :)

[Geminichipmunk]

I have read and researched the topic of breastfeeding after drinking till my eyes crossed. Everything I could find said that pump and dump is an old method and that alcohol stays in your milk like it does in your blood stream. Once your body metabolizes the alcohol it would no longer be in your milk. Some people think that once you drink that the milk that your body produces would be tainted with alcohol until it was expressed and a "new batch" was made.  So, for example,  if you were to go out and have two beers by the time you got home in a couple of hours (assuming you feed baby every two hours) you should be fine to feed baby. I breastfed my daughter for a year and a half successfully and still enjoyed a few drinks now and then without ever pumping and dumping. Also, after 6 months, a baby's liver will process any little minuscule amount that may be in your breast milk like that of an adults. It is important to use good judgment. Any amount of alcohol that would impair your ability to drive would warrant waiting to feed the baby. Make sure you have some breast milk on reserve for that bottle feeding if need be.

[Clarabell1982]

Yeah sunbeds are my guilty pleasure ;-) I've never done a spray tan before but I hate the look of tan lines. I saw them on a friend once, following a spray tan, & it looked awful. I wouldn't be brave enough to do one naked lol

[Clarabell1982]

Oh I've never heard of the pump and dump thing. Thankyou for explaining that one to me :-D

I'm not a regular drinker but I know one friend said a few months ago that we need a night out after I give birth. I've never had a night out since Oct 2012 so I'm overdue one hehe.

I didn't know you coukd get alcojol strips either. If I can't get them, is there a general rule of thumb where breast milk is likely to be alcohol-free? I appreciate it depends on many factors like your BMI, how much you've drank etc

[Mrs_MP3]

I breastfed my babies and still engaged in a night out on the town with my husband here and there. The best thing to do is pump right before...drink and have fun...when ready, pump that milk out...throw it out, it's guarantee to have alcohol in it. The next pump is worth testing, using those alcohol test strips sold in stores, if it's clear...cool, if not dump that and test the next batch. Eventually, your milk will be free of alcohol and you can go back to nursing. Regardless, be prepared to toss out All that liquid gold...it certainly hurts to throw down the drain oz and oz of milk, but a night off sometimes is worth it.

[AnnieBrooke]

In other words, the milk before having something to drink is normal milk.  You would not pump and dump that milk, it's fine.  You pump and dump if the milk has alcohol in it, which only happens after drinking the alcohol.

Not saying you should be drinking, I had the same experience as specialmom when breastfeeding -- realizing I could not be off my mark at all when taking care of an infant.  But that would be the way to do it if you did have something to drink.

La Leche League might have some info on what to do if you are drinking in terms of number of hours later your milk is safe.

[AnnieBrooke]

You don't pump and dump before drinking, that wastes a lot of milk.  You do it if you have had something to drink.  

[specialmom]

Hm, to be honest----  most research says it is never safe to lay in a sunbed (the old lighted kind).  Not because you are breastfeeding but because it's just not good for ya.  I used to be a tanner but gave that up.  I've never done it but lots of people like those spray tans??  

And alcohol does pass through breast milk.  I think like a beer or one glass of wine would be fine to breast feed with but more than that, not so much.  

I pretty much gave up alcohol after I had my first baby though. I got buzzed one time and was like "wow, I cant take care of the baby" and that was it for me.  I was done!  

Mommyhood sure does change life, doesn't it?  :>))  But so worth it.  good luck

[manapenni]

I've heard, but haven't confirmed, that alcohol stays in your milk like it stays in your blood. I've seen milk test strip at stores like Buy Buy Baby ,to test your milk before feeding. But again, I don't know how accurate they are. Isn't The Rule Of Thumb After Drinking To Just "Pump and Dump"?