We are often asked by conscientious parents about how to safely enjoy occasional alcohol when you are breastfeeding. The good news is that there are ways to enjoy an occasional drink while protecting your infant from harmful exposure to alcohol. We encourage you to wait until breastfeeding is well-established and your baby’s feeds are a little more predictable and spaced out, usually after the first 6-8 weeks. Enjoy your drink immediately after your infant nurses, drink slowly, eat while you drink, drink water after you drink alcohol, and allow time (usually 2 – 2.5 hrs per standard serving) for the alcohol to completely clear your system before nursing again. Some moms choose to pump some alcohol-free milk in advance in case their baby is ready to feed sooner than expected. You do not need to “pump and dump” because as your liver works to clear your bloodstream from alcohol it simultaneously clears from your breast milk. However, if you feel uncomfortably full before your body has cleared the alcohol, you may need to pump and discard your milk. Read more about alcohol and breastfeeding on the CDC website, and check out this FeedSafe app that helps determine how much time you need to wait based on your body weight, your height and other factors.

DISCLAIMER: We know when you surf the web for information, you can get conflicting results, and it’s not easy to know whether you are finding evidence-based, high quality recommendations. That’s part of our job here at Kodiak KINDNESS; we are here to support your informed decisions about infant feeding through your baby’s first year. We’ve done some background work, and to the best of our knowledge, this post reflects current best practices. However, the information contained in this post and any links contained herein is for your informational use only; it is not a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Furthermore, Kodiak KINDNESS is not responsible for the accuracy of any information contained in this post or links contained herein; it is for you to review at your own risk and discuss, as needed, with your health care professional in order to make a plan that suits your individual circumstances.