Things to Know About Drinking Alcohol And Breastfeeding


Is drinking a glass of wine with dinner going to be harmful to my nursing baby? Is drinking safe at all? What should I do if I got drunk?These are the common questions nursing mothers ask: The effect of drinking alcohol on their breastmilk.


The occasional drink is unlikely to harm you or your baby. However, it’s safest not to have more than one or two units of alcohol, once or twice a week, if you are breastfeeding. Alcohol passes through your breastmilk to your baby. Drinking more than two units a day while you are breastfeeding may reduce your milk supply, and even affect your baby’s development.

La Leche League’s The Womanly Art Of Breastfeeding (p. 328) says:


La Leche League’s The Breastfeeding Answer Book (pp. 597-598) says:


Dr. Jack Newman, member of the LLLI Health Advisory Council, says this in his handout “More Breastfeeding Myths”:


In general, if you are sober enough to drive, you are sober enough to breastfeed. Less than 2% of the alcohol consumed by the mother reaches her blood and milk. Alcohol peaks in mom’s blood and milk approximately 1/2-1 hour after drinking (but there is considerable variation from person to person, depending upon how much food was eaten in the same time period, mom’s body weight and percentage of body fat, etc.). Alcohol does not accumulate in breastmilk, but leaves the milk as it leaves the blood; so when your blood alcohol levels are back down, so are your milk alcohol levels. Thus, pumping and dumping is not advisable. Because, again, as alcohol leaves the bloodstream, it leaves the breastmilk. Since alcohol is not “trapped” in breastmilk (it returns to the bloodstream as mother’s blood alcohol level declines), pumping and dumping will not remove it. Pumping and dumping, drinking a lot of water, resting, or drinking coffee will not speed up the rate of the elimination of alcohol from your body.

What if I get drunk?

Mothers who are intoxicated should not breastfeed until they are completely sober, at which time most of the alcohol will have left the mother’s blood. Drinking to the point of intoxication, or binge drinking, by breastfeeding mothers has not been adequately studied. Since all of the risks are not understood, drinking to the point of intoxication is not advised.

Can alcohol abuse affect a breastfed baby?

Weighing the Risks and Benefits

> Plan Ahead
If you want to drink, but are concerned about the effect on your baby, you can store some expressed breastmilk for the occasion. You can choose to wait for the alcohol to clear your system before nursing

> Alternatives

Breastfeeding and Alcohol
LLL FAQ on Alcohol & Breastfeeding
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles/