🍷 Alcohol and breastfeeding

Alcohol and breastfeeding is a topic about how alcohol passes into breast milk when a nursing mother drinks it. Alcohol passes into breast milk. The level of alcohol in the milk is close to its level in the mother's blood. So doctors advise breastfeeding women not to drink alcohol, wine included. The World Health Organization also recommends avoiding alcohol. Alcohol passes from blood into milk in roughly half an hour to an hour after it is drunk. Its amount then falls gradually as the body clears the alcohol. The myth that wine or beer increases milk supply is not confirmed: alcohol can, on the contrary, reduce milk flow and affect the baby's sleep. If a woman has still had a drink, doctors usually advise waiting several hours before feeding, or expressing milk beforehand. The safest course is to give up alcohol altogether while the child is fed milk. The topic belongs to the section on alcohol and health. The decision should be made together with a doctor. This text is a reference, not medical advice.