When I started drinking my daily red wine (that I was talking about the other day) I wanted to be sure things were safe. I exhaustively began studying reports of the effects of drinking while nursing, the opinions of the American Academy of Pediatrics and Le Leche League, and scouring the pages of KellyMom.
Here are some summaries of my research:
The American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Drugs classifies alcohol as a “Maternal Medication Usually Compatible With Breastfeeding.”
Dr. Jack Newman, member of the LLLI Health Advisory Council, says this in his handout "More Breastfeeding Myths":
Reasonable alcohol intake should not be discouraged at all. As is the case with most drugs, very little alcohol comes out in the milk. The mother can take some alcohol and continue breastfeeding as she normally does. Prohibiting alcohol is another way we make life unnecessarily restrictive for nursing mothers.I've talked to a considerable number of new moms that were under the impression that they could never have a drink while nursing. In fact, many new moms I've talked to are under the impression that they are restricted by activities they can do, foods they can eat, medications they can take, and drinks they can have. It breaks my heart that so many women give up on nursing before they ever get started just because they are ill-informed. I want to shout it from the rooftops! "Mommies! You can nurse AND have a life!" For now I'll just be happy with shouting it from my blog.
2 comments:
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I drink and nurse. Do I drink an entire keg? No.
:)
Good to know! I am one of those new moms who has no idea what I can eat/drink when I am breastfeeding. I need to read up more on this as I still lay off the caffeine...and I am exhausted and NEED it! And some of my husbands hard cider he makes would be nice this time of year as well.
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