Is it OK to breastfeed and drink wine? Let me tell you what I think......

This is a hard topic to write about. One - everyone has a strong opinion and two - everyone has a strong opinion.

Let's cut to the chase. Do I think its OK? YES.

Did I drink wine while breastfeeding? YES.

Am I a doctor? NO. So, consider this my educated opinion. 

I am a huge proponent of breastfeeding and it was the greatest feeling I have felt as a mother. I started 5 minutes after she arrived and only stopped a few weeks ago. My girl was exclusively breastfed for almost 7 months and only then did she get her bottle. I loved it. I couldn't get enough of it. BUT, I also loved my wine. I had to do some digging and soul searching, to be honest, to understand where I came out on the topic.

I am a huge fan of La Leche League. For you fellow breastfeeding mommas, I am sure you know of this amazing resource we have. It is an international organization with local branches for support, to answer questions, to seek help and have a great network of other like-minded mommas.

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Here are some great nuggets of wisdom straight from their website -

Women are often warned to not consume alcohol during pregnancy, as ample evidence has shown that it poses a severe and avoidable risk to her unborn baby. The risks of consuming alcohol while breastfeeding are not as well defined. Breastfeeding mothers receive conflicting advice about whether alcohol consumption can have an effect on their baby, which often leaves mothers feeling like they have more questions than answers. So, what information should a mother who is considering drinking while breastfeeding know?

La Leche League's The Womanly Art Of Breastfeeding (p. 328) says:

The effects of alcohol on the breastfeeding baby are directly related to the amount the mother ingests. When the breastfeeding mother drinks occasionally or limits her consumption to one drink or less per day, the amount of alcohol her baby receives has not been proven to be harmful.

La Leche League's The Breastfeeding Answer Book (pp. 597-598) says:

Alcohol passes freely into mother's milk and has been found to peak about 30 to 60 minutes after consumption, 60 to 90 minutes when taken with food. Alcohol also freely passes out of a mother's milk and her system. It takes a 120 pound woman about two to three hours to eliminate from her body the alcohol in one serving of beer or wine...the more alcohol that is consumed, the longer it takes for it to be eliminated. It takes up to 13 hours for a 120 pound woman to eliminate the alcohol from one high-alcohol drink. The effects of alcohol on the breastfeeding baby are directly related to the amount the mother consumes.

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I, personally, chose to stick with only wine. I drank no hard liquor while I was breastfeeding. I would have 1-1/2 glasses at night once I knew she was down for the night or for a longer amount of sleep. That way, I knew the majority of the alcohol would be out of my system before she would eat again. If anything was left, it was a very minimal amount. Occasionally, I would also drink a glass during the day at a special event, etc.

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.

BOOM.

What is the key to all this, wine mommas? MODERATION AND LIMITED CONSUMPTION. We can still have our cake and eat it too. Be proud to be a breastfeeding momma and a wine momma. It's OK.

Cheers!