Drinking alcohol then breastfeeding

[Panda_Ally]

Have i harmed my baby?
Last night i went to a family party and didnt plan to drink but i thought i would just have one - people kept buying me drinks (i no its a bad excuse) and i ended up getting a bit tipsy! I came home and LO cried for her midnight feed i planned to give her formula as i did not want to feed her after i had been drinking but she would not take the bottle (which she normally does) and kept screaming!! So in the end i gave up and breastfeed her!! She feel straight to sleep afterwards then slept for 6 hours until waking again for another feed. She seems really sleepy today so im very worried!! I feel like such a bad mummy!
How much alcohol gets into breast milk? Could she get 'drunk'?
HELP!!!

 

[CamoQueen]

Here's what I found off this link (https://www.breast-feeding-information.com/breastfeeding-and-alcohol.php):

When a mother is expecting her child and plans to breastfeed, she often thinks that she has to avoid all spicy, fatty, sugary and salty food. In fact she has to give up all foods that make life worth living! She is also supposed to abstain from alcohol: gone is the delicious glass of red wine with a plate of garlicky olives. But is this true?

Well the answer is ‘not entirely’. Current research says that occasional use of alcohol (1-2 drinks) is not harmful to the nursing baby. The American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Drugs classifies alcohol (ethanol) as a “Maternal Medication Usually Compatible With Breastfeeding.” In plain English, what they recommend is ‘if you are sober enough to drive, you are sober enough to breastfeed’.

So exactly how much are you allowed to drink? Current medical experts recommend that a breastfeeding mother should not drink more than 1-2 units of alcohol per week. A breastfeeding mother should also avoid breastfeeding 2-3 hours after drinking alcohol. Less than 2% of alcohol consumed reaches her breast milk.

There are some myths about drinking and breastfeeding. The first being, that you can get rid of the alcohol in your breast milk by first expressing and then feeding baby later. There is no need to pump & dump milk after drinking alcohol, other than for mom's comfort -- pumping & dumping does not speed the elimination of alcohol from the milk. Another myth sometimes espoused is that drinking will increase your milk supply. This is not true; in fact, it has been shown to reduce the amount of milk produced.

If you do drink alcohol whilst breastfeeding your baby you should bear in mind the amount you drink and the age of the infant. A newborn has a very immature liver, so minute amounts of alcohol would be more of a burden. Up until around 3 months of age, infants detoxify alcohol at around half the rate of an adult. An older baby or toddler can metabolize the alcohol more quickly.

 

[Jemima]

I'm sure it won't have done her any harm, don't stress. I had a couple of drinks last night and fed Poppy when I got in and she was fine. No harm done.

x

 

[Panda_Ally]

Thanks ladies!! You put my mind at rest i still feel really guilty tho so i wont be drinking again for a long while!!!