Not drinking alcohol is the safest option for breastfeeding mothers. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans defines moderate consumption for women of legal drinking age as up to 1 standard drink per day.
All of these drinks contain the same amount i. However, many common drinks contain much more alcohol than this. Consuming one of these drinks would be the equivalent of two standard drinks. Generally, moderate alcohol consumption by a breastfeeding mother up to 1 standard drink per day is not known to be harmful to the infant, especially if the mother waits at least 2 hours after a single drink before nursing.
Drinking alcoholic beverages is not an indication to stop breastfeeding; however, consuming more than one drink per day is not recommended. Alcohol levels are usually highest in breast milk minutes after an alcoholic beverage is consumed, and can be generally detected in breast milk for about hours per drink after it is consumed. However, the length of time alcohol can be detected in breast milk will increase the more alcohol a mother consumes.
For example, alcohol from 1 drink can be detected in breast milk for about hours, alcohol from 2 drinks can be detected for about hours, and alcohol from 3 drinks can be detected for about hours, and so on. You may have even heard that a little alcohol particularly beer can help increase your milk supply. This may have been music to your ears after months without alcohol.
Is this really true, though? And is it safe to drink beer while breastfeeding? In a word, possibly. More research into this area needs to be done. Well, drinking in moderation i. Drinking heavily while breastfeeding likely has some consequences for the baby, but more study needs to be done around this, too. Chances are someone has encouraged you to have some Guinness to increase your breast milk supply.
Where did they get this idea? Are they right? As far back as B. Low-alcohol beer has even been marketed in the United States — as early as the late s and even today — specifically for lactating women! You may be excited to hear that the barley aspect of beer can boost prolactin production. However, the alcohol component of beer decreases milk production and inhibits the milk ejection reflex from letting down as much milk.
And guess what? I felt bad about it. Unlike my milk, the mom guilt came fast and it came hard. While feeding Theodore was, of course, the most important thing, with every ounce of supplemental formula I mixed, I felt my body was failing my baby. I ate tons of oatmeal and drank way too much Gatorade. But my favorite supply booster was beer. Most experts agree that when it comes to alcohol, if you can drive, you can breast-feed.
And as someone who writes about spirits, enjoyed my wine without guilt during the second and third trimesters, and is married to a Certified Cicerone basically a sommelier of beer , I was thrilled to learn that for centuries, women have been drinking beer in hopes of making more milk. With low-alcohol beer specifically brewed for breast-feeding moms nowhere to be found these days, recommendations for other types were all over the place but leaned heavily toward Guinness.
It seemed to make sense — all that dark stuff had to be good for something, and as far as beers go, it has one of the lowest alcohol contents, coming in at 4. And they were both wrong.
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