Is it OK to drink alcohol while breastfeeding?

Updated November 22nd 2023

Whether you’re wanting a sip of champagne in the delivery room or trying to plan ahead for when you’re able to go out for a girls night, alcohol and breastfeeding can mix when you know the facts.

After the birth of my firstborn, a sip of ice cold beer hit the spot for me but that’s where I stopped. I wasn’t interested drinking anything (especially since my tolerance had dropped way down) until much later. I think I had my first glass of wine when my baby was about 2-3 months old and even then, it was half of what I would have drank pre pregnancy.

There are a lot of strong opinions on drinking alcohol while breastfeeding. You can find everything from “you’re irresponsible if you drink a drop” to “if you can find the baby you can feed the baby”. That second one makes me sick to my stomach. As you’ll find out below, alcohol does pass into your breastmilk and if you’re intoxicated, there’s no way you should be nursing your baby.

How can you tell if there’s alcohol in your breastmilk?

You don’t need to spend your money on the breastmilk test strips. It can be safely assumed that if you’ve had a drink and it’s been less than 2 hours, there’s a small % of alcohol in your breastmilk.

When you drink alcohol, the alcohol level of your breastmilk matches the alcohol level in your blood because breastmilk is made from your blood. Because of this, the general rule is if you’re sober enough to drive where you would be under the legal limit you’re sober enough to breastfeed.

Anne Eglash is an IBCLC who likes to say “if your brain is tipsy, so are your breasts”.

Only time and your liver will clear the alcohol from your system. This is why pumping and dumping doesn’t work. What pumping and dumping does do is protect your milk supply but it does not remove the alcohol from your milk.

How much alcohol can I safely have while breastfeeding?

This is going to be different for each person. For most women, 1-2 drinks at a time can safely be enjoyed. This means you do not have to worry about the glass of wine you enjoyed with dinner, provided it was around 4oz. The general rule for alcohol consumption is a 4oz glass of wine, 1 oz of hard liquor or 8 oz of beer.

Remember to also drink water as alcohol is dehydrating and preferably enjoy the alcohol with a nutrient dense meal.

And remember that you went 10 months or more without drinking so your tolerance for alcohol has gone way down. You might have a glass half of what you’re used to and find that it’s too much. If you’re going to resume having a drink, start slow.

How long after alcohol can you breastfeed?

Of course I had to include this one as it’s a question on the mind of every breastfeeding mom who’s thinking about having a drink.

I’ll start by saying, alcohol levels in your milk will peak about 30-60 minutes after your drink. No you do not need to pump and dump. If you pump and dump, this will support your milk supply but it will not remove the alcohol from your milk.

If you’ve had a drink, or are planning to soon, there’s a few things to keep in mind.

• If you are not sober, you should have someone else care for your baby. It’s dangerous to care for an infant while intoxicated.
• You may also want to wait until you are sober to breastfeed. This could be several hours, if you find your breasts starting to feel very full, I would pump and discard that milk (since you were intoxicated) or freeze it clearly labelled for a milk bath and not consumption

Helpful info:

• If you’ve only had 1-2 drinks and you are feeding your baby, you may find your breasts feel very full. This could actually be due to reduced transfer of milk (baby is drinking less)
• The feeling of full breasts after drinking alcohol is because the baby is inefficiently transferring milk because it’s been found that alcohol blocks the release of oxytocin which is the hormone responsible for milk let down so it’s not that it’s increasing your supply but rather your baby is drinking less
• Hand express after your baby feeds to ensure the breast is empty and offer your baby the breast frequently after you’re done drinking

What are the risks of alcohol while breastfeeding?

Because oxytocin is inhibited when alcohol is consumed, if you were to drink in excessive amounts, you could possibly end up with decreased milk production. The CDC reports that “excessive alcohol consumption could also affect the infant’s sleep patterns and early development”. And the obvious one I’ve mentioned is that if you’re drunk, it’s going to affect how you can care for your baby.

How much you choose to drink is a personal decision. Whether or not you have food with your drink, how quickly you drink your drink, how much you weigh, and how your body metabolizes alcohol will all affect how much is in your milk and for how long.

Here’s a link to a “Time to Zero” calculator from the Infant Risk Centre in Texas. This will help you determine how long it may take your body to eliminate the alcohol completely based off your body weight.

In summary, having a drink or two while breastfeeding is a personal decision. It’s a decision only you can make when you have all the information you need to feel informed enough.

References:

Alcohol and breastfeeding. (2023, April 18). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/breastfeeding-special-circumstances/vaccinations-medications-drugs/alcohol.html

Alcohol, Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK501469/ (Accessed 1//22/2023)

Alcohol & Breastfeeding: What’s your time-to-zero? InfantRisk. (n.d.). https://infantrisk.com/content/alcohol-breastfeeding-whats-your-time-zero

Hetzel Campbell, S., Lauwers, J., Mannel, R., & Spencer, B. (2019). Core curriculum for interdisciplinary lactation care. Jones & Bartlett Learning

Newman, J., & Pitman, T. (2014). Dr. Jack Newman’s guide to breastfeeding. Harper Collins Publishers Ltd.