Breastfeeding and alcohol

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Nicole Wendler holds a PhD in biology in the field of oncology and immunology. As a medical editor, author and proofreader, she works for various publishers, for whom she presents complex and extensive medical issues in a simple, concise and logical manner.

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Breastfeeding and alcohol are not a good combination. As in pregnancy, the following also applies during breastfeeding: Your child will drink with you. Alcohol is harmful to child development and makes breastfeeding problems easier. Here you can find out the concentration of alcohol in breast milk, the risks associated with breastfeeding and drinking alcohol and the consequences of an occasional drink for your child.

Breastfeeding and Alcohol: Dangers and Risks

If you use alcoholic beverages, your body absorbs the alcohol through the mucous membranes. This already happens in the mouth, but for the most part in the gastrointestinal tract. The alcohol gets from the mucous membranes into the blood and in the breastfeeding woman from there directly into the breast milk.

Alcohol in breast milk

About half an hour to an hour after the first sip, the milk is alcoholic. The blood alcohol level and the concentration of breast milk are almost the same. If the alcohol level in the blood drops, it also decreases in breast milk. How much alcohol reaches blood and milk is difficult to say. The alcohol level depends on the alcohol content of the drink, the amount consumed, your body weight and whether you drink it on a full or empty stomach.

Depending on the amount of alcohol, it can take a few hours for the alcohol to be completely broken down again. Pumping won't help in this case, you'll have to wait for the alcohol in your body to break down.

Alcohol harms the child

Breastfeeding and drinking alcohol should be avoided by mothers. Alcohol is a cell poison. It can affect child development - especially the brain. Infants break down alcohol much more slowly than adults. At what dose it becomes problematic for the baby, there is no clear medical evidence.

Long-term harm to the child from long-term alcohol consumption during breastfeeding is difficult to assess. If the mother drinks alcohol while breastfeeding, it can affect the child's motor and mental development, sleep rhythm and growth. It has been scientifically proven that alcohol shortens sleep times in children.

In addition, alcohol changes the composition, smell and amount of breast milk. The result is that the children drink less, gain weight more slowly and tend to be more restless. According to current knowledge, however, an occasional drink does not seem to cause serious damage to the child.

Alcohol makes breastfeeding problems easier

Women who breastfeed and drink alcohol are more likely than abstinent breastfeeding women to struggle with breastfeeding problems such as sore nipples, congestion of the milk or too little milk. The reason for this are the hormones responsible for milk production. Her blood levels are sensitive to alcohol and are unbalanced by the mother's alcohol consumption. The consequences: Milk production slows down, the amount of milk decreases and the milk donor reflex is inhibited.

The widespread belief that a glass of sparkling wine or beer stimulates milk production is not true!

Alcohol While Breastfeeding - Yes or No?

Unlike during pregnancy, your body no longer provides the baby with uninterrupted nutrients. There are breaks between meals, which theoretically allow a certain amount of freedom. However, you should be careful when breastfeeding and consuming alcohol at the same time.

While breastfeeding: Do not drink alcohol before the first month

Mothers should better avoid the combination of breastfeeding and alcohol until the end of the first month of their child's life. Complete abstinence from alcohol is advisable, as newborns often become hungry unexpectedly. Milk production also has to level off first and is sensitive to alcohol.

So you should wait until the breastfeeding rhythm has settled, the amount of milk has been adjusted and, ideally, you have already been able to express some milk beforehand. Then the alcohol can break down until the next breastfeeding meal, or you can feed your baby expressed milk.

There is never a guarantee that you will be breastfeeding permanently, but the chances are better after the first month. If your baby has difficulty finding a rhythm, you should not combine breastfeeding and alcohol as a precaution.

Not too much per mille

High-proof is taboo for women who are breastfeeding. If it is absolutely necessary, give preference to spirits with a lower percentage of alcohol, such as wine spritzers or light beer. But it shouldn't be more than one or two glasses of it. Otherwise the alcohol will not be completely broken down until the next time you breastfeed.

For orientation: A bottle of beer (330 ml) contains around 13 grams, a quarter liter of wine or sparkling wine around 20 grams and a small schnapps (20 ml) around 6 grams of alcohol.

Breastfeeding and alcohol - you have to pay attention to this!

It is important to avoid intoxication while breastfeeding. What else also applies is particularly important when breastfeeding and drinking alcohol: Eat well before drinking so that the alcohol does not get into the blood too quickly and drink water in between. Women who consume breastfeeding and alcohol should also consider the following:

• Breastfeeding and alcohol - in that order!
• Have expressed non-alcoholic milk ready in case your child is hungry earlier than expected or you have drunk more than planned. Then express the alcoholic milk and throw it away.
• To prevent breastfeeding problems, you should not skip breastfeeding! As mentioned above, use non-alcoholic milk supply if necessary.
• Take good care of your child until you are sober again!
• This is especially true at night: alcohol delays the reaction and changes sleep so that you could easily ignore the child's signals.

Breastfeeding and alcohol: recommendations

The Federal Ministry of Health in Germany advises breastfeeding women to avoid alcoholic beverages. Women should definitely avoid spirits with a high alcohol content during breastfeeding. In other countries, the advice is formulated more specifically and women are given the occasional consumption of one or two glasses a week, but only under certain conditions.

Unfortunately, there is a lack of reliable data that prove the amount of alcohol at which there is a risk to the health of the child. The National Breastfeeding Commission recommends women who drink a small glass now and then not to stop breastfeeding, as the positive aspect of breast milk predominates.

Alcohol only occasionally!

Women who breastfeed and drink alcohol should be aware of their responsibility for the health of their child and adjust the use and amount of alcohol accordingly during the breastfeeding period. Regularly three or more glasses a day harm not only the child, but also the mothers.

If you cannot do without alcohol permanently, you should get professional help. Regardless of whether you are breastfeeding or not: If you consume alcohol regularly, you have to ask yourself to what extent you are able to take care of your child appropriately and to build a stable mother-child relationship. Do not lose sight of your child's well-being while breastfeeding. Alcohol should remain the exception.

Read more about the dangers of high alcohol consumption and where you can get help in the topic special "Alcohol".

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