Breastfeeding and alcohol
This afternoon on our way to a favorite restaurant we stopped at the playground to find a missing sneaker. Sneaker found, we let Sam loose to play for a few minutes and I chatted with a friend, another pregnant woman with a daughter Sam’s age.
The restaurant we were heading to happens to be our favorite happy hour spot. When Sam was an infant we’d stop there every Friday afternoon for margaritas. I lamented the fact that I am currently unable to enjoy a margarita. Bob asked how long it would be until my friend could drink again- essentially asking her due date. My friend mentioned that even after delivery you can’t drink while you’re nursing. I told her that that’s not totally true. You can drink, you just can’t get wasted.
She looked guilty for a minute then told me that after abstaining for a while she went out with a group of moms who were medical professionals. They asked why she wasn’t drinking. She told them it was because she was nursing and they laughed and explained that it was fine. A glass of wine or a single cocktail enjoyed at the right time isn’t going to affect your baby. Moderation is key and Kellymom has a list of guidelines for responsible drinking while nursing.
The conversation was timely since I just saw this article:
Breastfeeding moms can drink moderately
Stockholm - Breastfeeding women can drink moderate amounts of alcohol without endangering their baby, Sweden’s National Food Administration said on Tuesday, changing its previous recommendation to abstain entirely.
“There is no medical reason to abstain completely from alcohol while breastfeeding,” Annica Sohlstroem, head of the agency’s nutrition department, said in a statement.
“The amount of alcohol that the child can ingest through the breast milk is small if you drink one or two glasses of wine” per week, she said.
The new advice is an about-face for the agency, which has for the past decade or so advised women to avoid alcohol while breastfeeding, and is based on current medical research.
The recommendation is however still a proposal and will be sent to other government agencies for consideration.
The agency, which aims to monitor food quality sold and produced in Sweden, stressed its intention was not to encourage women to drink while breastfeeding and strongly advised women to continue to abstain from alcohol while pregnant.
My StumbleUpon Page
March 17th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
Thanks for this posting. I have been in need of a glass of wine at night - the past week or so, and now I can do it guilt free!