These measurements are slightly larger than “standard” drink sizes of about 1.5 ounces of liquor, 5 ounces of wine, or 12 ounces of beer. Specifically, the AAP says nursing moms should have no more than 0.5 grams of alcohol per kilogram of body weight-which for a 60-kilogram mother (about 130 pounds), is about 2 ounces of liquor, an eight-ounce glass of wine, or two beers. The American Academy of Pediatrics policy on breastfeeding says that while alcohol intake should be limited, an occasional drink is acceptable. Quicklist: 1category: What You Need to Know About Alcohol and Breastfeeding title: Less Is Moreurl:text: Breastfeeding or not, women and men should not drink more than the amounts recommended by leading health organizations, Conover says. Here are three things you need to know about alcohol and nursing. That said, there are ways to drink responsibly without endangering your baby. Researchers note that polysaccharides from barley and hops are responsible-so non-alcoholic beer has the same effect. However, several studies have shown that drinking beer can increase levels of the hormone prolactin, which helps in the creation of breast milk. The American Academy of Pediatrics says alcohol is not a galactagogue, meaning it doesn’t improve milk production, or milk letdown. One study found that when mothers had more than one drink daily during breastfeeding their babies had impaired motor development (but not mental development) at age 1, though a later study did not duplicate that finding.ġ0 ‘Vices’ That Are Actually Good for YouĪnd it’s an old wives’ tale that a small amount of alcohol can actually help milk letdown, or the release of milk. Studies have also shown that when there’s alcohol in breast milk, babies drink less and may not grow as well, Dr. Mothers of newborns less than three months old should be extra careful about drinking as the baby’s brain is still developing and very vulnerable, says Beth Conover, a nurse practitioner at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha and a member of the board of directors of MotherToBaby, a non-profit organization that provides information to mothers and healthcare professionals about alcohol and medication exposure during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
Is wine safe while breastfeeding full#
There just aren’t enough good-quality studies to give us the full picture, she adds. “It’s definitely gray,” says Catherine Herway, MD, assistant director of maternal fetal medicine at Staten Island University Hospital. So are smaller amounts safe? And if so, how much is too much? That’s less clear. “I was sober enough to breastfeed my kid.”ĭrinking while nursing may not be illegal, but experts say large amounts of alcohol can be harmful for a breastfeeding baby.
“I’ll say it till the day I die,” Adams told ABC’s 20/20. The waitress has since been fired.Īdams maintains she wasn’t doing anything wrong from a parenting standpoint. In mid March, the charges against Adams were dropped. Turns out drinking while nursing isn’t illegal in Arkansas. But the officers themselves weren’t entirely sure what to do. The waitress called the police who arrested Adams. An off-duty waitress at the restaurant claimed Adams was drinking copious amounts of hard liquor and that her baby-who is now 8 months old-was “getting fussy.” Adams said she only had two beers over the course of two hours.