Is Alcohol Safe During Breastfeeding? Expert Advice

Can You Drink Alcohol While Breastfeeding?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises against maternal alcohol consumption (drinking while breastfeeding an infant) due to the adverse risks to mother-infant health. However, the occasional drink (up to one standard drink a day) is not known to be harmful to the infant, provided you take proper precautions. Read on for tips on how to reduce your infant’s exposure to alcohol if you choose to drink alcohol while nursing.

How Much Alcohol is Safe for Breastfeeding Mothers?

If you decide to drink alcohol while nursing an infant with breast milk, make sure you adhere to a safe drinking level, which is no more than one standard drink per day.

According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, one standard drink is:

1.5 ounces of 40% (80 proof) alcohol by volume (ABV) liquor such as gin, brandy, tequila, rum, whiskey, or vodka.
5 ounces of beverages with 12% ABV, such as wine.
8 ounces of beverages with 7% ABV, such as malt liquor.
12 ounces of alcoholic drinks with 5% ABV, such as beer.

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Timing of Breastfeeding After Consuming Alcohol

How Long Do I Have To Wait To Breastfeed After Drinking Alcohol?

Experts recommend that you wait a minimum of 2 hours after having a single alcoholic beverage before you nurse your infant.

Alcohol levels in breast milk are typically the highest about half an hour to one hour after the mother has an alcoholic drink. Alcohol continues to be present in breast milk for about 2 to 3 hours after each standard drink is consumed.

Keep in mind that the length of time that alcohol is present in breast milk after the mother drinks can vary from person to person. It depends on various factors such as the amount of alcohol consumed, the speed at which alcohol was consumed, whether alcohol was consumed with food or on an empty stomach, and the mother’s body weight and metabolism.

Higher amounts of alcohol intake by the mother (more than one standard drink) can cause blood alcohol levels to remain elevated for longer and consequently for alcohol to be detectable in breast milk for longer. Therefore, practices such as binge drinking (4 or more drinks in 2 hours or less) can lead to alcohol being present in breast milk for 6 to 8 hours or even longer.

Note: Expectant mothers are strongly urged to avoid alcohol completely during pregnancy due to a high risk of birth defects and long-term medical problems in the baby.

How Long To Wait To Breastfeed After Drinking: Chart Calculator

Based on alcohol pharmacokinetics, experts recommend waiting the following amounts of time before breastfeeding to allow all the alcohol to clear from your system.

Number of standard drinks consumed	Time to wait before breastfeeding
1 standard drink	2 hours
2 standard drinks	4 to 5 hours
3 standard drinks	6 to 8 hours

Alcohol's Effect on Breast Milk Production

Studies have shown that breast-fed infants consume about 20% less mother’s milk in the 3-4 hours after their mother consumes an alcoholic beverage. Scientists do not believe the decreased milk intake is because of a shorter period of nursing or rejection of the mother's milk due to changes in flavor or quality but rather due to decreased milk production following maternal alcohol consumption.

Animal studies have shown that alcohol consumption affects the levels of prolactin and oxytocin, two milk-ejecting hormones that play a key role in the production of breast milk. Researchers do not know how alcohol affects these hormones in humans or whether the quantity or quality (calorie content) of human milk is affected in chronic or heavy consumers of alcohol.

Alcohol's Impact on Infants

Transfer of Alcohol into Breast Milk

Alcohol passes from the mother’s bloodstream to human milk readily. Alcohol levels in human milk closely parallel maternal blood alcohol levels. Therefore, women who drink alcohol while breastfeeding can expose their nursing infant to alcohol.

Drinking alcoholic beverages is not completely prohibited during breastfeeding. Moderate alcohol consumption, such as one glass of beer or wine per day, is not known to have short- or long-term effects on the nursing infant’s health. However, consuming more than one standard drink per day while breastfeeding can harm the infant and is not recommended. It’s also important for lactating women to time breastfeeding to when their blood alcohol level has decreased.

Can Alcohol in Breast Milk Affect the Baby?

Exposure to alcohol through breast milk can negatively impact an infant's growth and development as well as sleep patterns. Babies exposed to alcohol through breast milk may be drowsy, lethargic, and weak. They may also fail to gain weight as expected.

In addition, mothers who consume alcohol above moderate levels may have impaired judgment and an inability to safely care for the infant.

Common Concerns and Myths

Common Misconceptions About Alcohol and Milk Production

Traditionally, there is a belief in many cultures that alcohol is a galactagogue (a substance that enhances breast milk production). For example, some cultures believe that the consumption of small amounts of alcohol shortly before nursing can increase milk yield and improve the release of milk from the mammary glands (also called the let-down). In addition, alcohol is believed to relax the mother and infant.

However, scientific research does not support these folklores that encourage alcohol consumption by lactating women. The expert opinion is to avoid drinking alcohol as much as possible, to drink no more than one drink a day while breastfeeding, and to wait 2 hours between each drink and nursing.

Is “Pump and Dump” Effective?

A breastfeeding mother may express or pump milk within 2 hours of having an alcoholic beverage and discard the pumped milk. This type of milk ejection is called “pump and dump.”

However, the newly produced breast milk, after pumping and dumping, will still contain alcohol as long as the mother has measurable blood alcohol levels. Therefore, “pump and dump” does not reduce the amount of alcohol in breast milk any faster. It is not an effective way to prevent alcohol exposure in the infant.

Nonetheless, pumping and dumping can help to ease physical discomfort from engorgement.

Social Situations: How to Manage Occasional Drinking

If a lactating mother wishes or requires alcohol consumption socially, she can pump (express) milk before she drinks alcohol, store it, and use it to feed her infant. Or she can wait at least two hours (per standard drink) after consuming alcohol before nursing her infant - this will allow her blood alcohol levels to go down. Of course, there is also the option to consume non-alcoholic drinks.