Breastfeeding and alcohol
Science and a personal experience
This is a hot topic for mums. Some say it is no issue, some say a small glass can have side-effects. I had a bad experience with my 18-month year old and started to look into the scientific literature with the eyes of a biologist. This is not statistically significant, yet it might resonate with you.
Breastfeeding and alcohol consumption is debated. A liberating wave is coming suggesting moderate drinking should not be a problem for your milk supply and especially for your baby. Meanwhile, many women are cautious and wisely avoid alcoholic drinks all at once, not only during pregnancy. This can be a demanding dedication lasting 18 months or more… what a journey!
I have decided to report my experience because there’s trend of very liberal information available and I am afraid what they suggested might not be the best for anybody. They come often with the word feminism, as if breastfeeding was hampering women from success and equal pay.
Official guidelines state that abstinence from alcohol is the wisest choice, although one drink id not considered harmful and that alcohol readily distributes to the milk. Some are however very clear and state that there is no level of alcohol in the milk that can be considered safe or that should be.
A quick search in Google Scholar on ‘alcohol and breastfeeding’ retrieves some 75K hits.
Meta-studies show that more or less half of all lactating women in Western countries consume alcohol while breastfeeding. Up to almost 70% in Australian mums 8 weeks after giving birth have consumed alcohol. although the alcohol is known to milk ejection reflex and thus lead to a temporary decrease in milk yield. I always wondered how much alcohol actually ends up in the milk and it seems that it is not far from the level in maternal blood. Some population studies offer contradicting results, and the consumption of alcohol might be linked to lower academic performance of the kids. This type of studies is difficult to replicate and the difference was small, yet detectable.
I remember laughing at The Mindy Project making on the episode of the Christmas party at three office when she decided to opt for the’pump and dump’ and indulge a bit more. In there perfect comic move, she filled her bra with red wine. What a better metaphor of what’s on there mind of a new mum trying to get back her mental freedom?
I remember getting a bit shocked, as I was a baby-naive thirty year old chilling on the sofa. I now realise what a genius provocative move Mindy Kaling!
An evening out
I was yesterday out with some ex colleagues and friends after a year of so. I knew I had to back by eight o’clock, when my 18-month kid goes to bed so my evening out started at 5 pm. It started with a glass of beer mixed with lemonade, that I could not even finish. I had been drinking only alcohol-free drinks until then. Was I exaggerating? I thought. And I heard there answer in my head saying ‘ it’s just a bit of beer’.
Beer is full of minerals and in some countries or is even said to help with milk supply… an urban legend. I have been breastfeeding for there last 20 months and I have loved doing it.
I remember my doula telling me that if I wanted to sip a bit of wine, better doing it after breastfeeding. But my kid hadn’t drunk at all since the morning from me. I even made the calculation of 3% alcohol in less than 33 cl diluted in my 40 L of body fluids plus one litre of milk. It is a low enough percentage, I thought. I drank half a litre of mineral after that, just in case. It will get diluted quickly and the water will help me to get rid of the alcohol… the other way.
I felt the peer pressure, I wanted to taste again that malted flavour, I was in the company of men who were drinking with no second thought, I hadn’t been out for months.
Considering how the night went, I should have hesitated and pondered a bit longer the pro and cons.
I went home and my kid was full of joy to see me and ran right into my arms. We happily cuddled and she breastfed to sleep. It was not long after one hour however that she started vomiting the milk, and also some food in small pieces. My first thought was about the food and that maybe she was very tired. Yet, at every feeding, that night, she could not hold it. She looked healthy and hungry, and willing to feed. After two bad events I quickly decided to stop breastfeeding and offer only comfort and some water. She was not happy and was clearly not the same!
We kept thinking about what went wrong with the preparation of the dinner, but she looked so in a good mood. She was not sick.
The answer came to me like a flash on the way to work the morning after. Could it be possible that those sips of beer were the guilty one? Was I the guilty one? Vomiting is a defence mechanism.
I could not find any other reason and if this was it, it had occurred one time more in the past. I later found out that other mums had reported this experience, one was a friend of mine.
I have shared this story to have a look into breastfeeding and alcohol and share my experience, hoping it will be of support to mums in doubt. Breastfeeding is a long journey, it takes dedication, it takes time, it isolates you from the world and friends, and male friends and colleagues. It does not give you an additional topic of conversation at the coffee break. It is tempting to stop out of what looks like convenience. But breastfeeding puts a small brick into the future, of your family, of a healthy kid, of our society. It is worthy and only you can do it.
