Drank too much while breastfeeding

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"if you regularly have more than one drink a day, it can have negative effects on your nursing baby.”

Nursing babies who are regularly exposed to alcohol through breast milk may experience:

Developmental and neurological problems.
Sleep problems."-- Cleveland clinic.org

Op-- The bottom line: You obviously care about your child and had an extreme misjudgment on one day. Please self-correct going into the future.

Uh huh and where is this from?

[Anonymous]

^^meaning what STUDY do they use as evidence? There are none.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^meaning what STUDY do they use as evidence? There are none.

Share with us how you would design such a study.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^meaning what STUDY do they use as evidence? There are none.

Share with us how you would design such a study.

Is there any evidence that drinking while nursing causes long term harm to a baby, despite the fact that the amount of alcohol that ends up in breast milk is around the same as the amount of alcohol in a cup of fruit juice? Even observational studies?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^meaning what STUDY do they use as evidence? There are none.

Share with us how you would design such a study.

Is there any evidence that drinking while nursing causes long term harm to a baby, despite the fact that the amount of alcohol that ends up in breast milk is around the same as the amount of alcohol in a cup of fruit juice? Even observational studies?

No, and a leading breastfeeding expert does a great job putting this in perspective by the way: https://www.facebook.com/DrJackNewman/posts/alcohol-and-breastfeeding-happy-holidays-all-from-our-breastfeeding-clinic-in-to/422431411241244/

This is important because many women will breastfeed longer and more successfully if the rules and misperceptions around it are not so rigid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ugh OP ignore these fools. The amount of alcohol that ends up in breast milk is really miniscule. Did you know fruit juice contains small amounts of alcohol? You gave you baby fruit juice, not a glass of wine.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lol that's how I got pregnant at 18 and now have a 5 year old. I limit myself to 1 drink now.

You got pregnant from having unprotected sex, not from drinking alcohol

[Anonymous]

I would be more concerned about being too drunk to take care of a newborn. You could have accidentally dropped your baby.

[Anonymous]

Some of you on this forum are so toxic it's disgusting. Here is a new mom freaking out and admitting to having made a mistake. There is no need to write about FAS (which doesn't make sense), to make OP feel like a horrible parent who has just damaged her kid, or to just outright shame her. It's pretty disturbing behavior from adults. I bet you would all be screaming for the hills if your child was subjected to these types of comments. Hopefully someone is raising your kids to be better humans than you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The amount of alcoholics on this board is…yikes. 5 drinks in 4 hours is too much for anyone, let alone someone who is in charge of watching a child, let alone someone who is BREASTFEEDING that child. Full stop.

OP, atleast you’re in good company. Maybe you and a dozen of these other women can start a support group.

Or maybe we just aren't into shaming someone who already feels bad and doesn't plan to do it again. Really no reason to make OP feel like a horrible parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here again. Baby woke up to nurse at 6. Seems fine, but she did sleep longer than usual. How would I know if she was affected by last night? What are the continued risks? Or is she probably ok?
We were at a neighborhood (outdoor) gathering, so driving wasn’t an issue. And it was so nice to be outside in good weather and see our neighbors. But I probably had 4 cocktails over 5 hours? Maybe even 5. And I nursed her throughout that time without a thought.
I am a basket case and so upset with myself. What was I thinking?!

That's a lot of drinks. To drink 4-5 cocktails in 4-5 hours is a lot. You must be a big boozer. Did you have any care or concern for your baby at the drink fest?

What does your comment add to this forum? Oh you just wanted to be a mean girl? What does that say about you? Pretty pathetic.

[Anonymous]

Op--are you normally a big boozer? Please be honest with yourself and get help sooner, not later.

[Anonymous]

Alcohol can typically be detected in breast milk for about 2 to 3 hours after a single drink is consumed. However, it must be noted that the length of time alcohol can be detected in breast milk increases according to the amount of alcohol a mother consumes. Alcohol from 1 drink can be detected in breast milk for about 2 to 3 hours but the time period extends to about 4 to 5 hours if a mother consumes 2 drinks and to about 6 to 8 hours if she consumes 3 drinks, and so forth. Other factors influencing the amount of alcohol in breast milk include how fast it is consumed, whether it is consumed with food, the mother’s body weight, and individual variations in alcohol absorption and metabolism.3,5

Blood alcohol levels in a nursing infant depend on the amount of alcohol in breast milk, but also on the infant’s capacity to metabolize alcohol. In a newborn, alcohol is metabolized at 25% to 50% of the rate observed in adults.3,6
Source: contemporaryobgyn.com

So, Op, a baby can't metabolize alcohol as fast as an adult and that's the concern coupled with the fact that you are drinking SO much in one sitting. Drinking 4-5 cocktails at one BBQ is concerning. And, if you repeat this behavior, that's very problematic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Alcohol can typically be detected in breast milk for about 2 to 3 hours after a single drink is consumed. However, it must be noted that the length of time alcohol can be detected in breast milk increases according to the amount of alcohol a mother consumes. Alcohol from 1 drink can be detected in breast milk for about 2 to 3 hours but the time period extends to about 4 to 5 hours if a mother consumes 2 drinks and to about 6 to 8 hours if she consumes 3 drinks, and so forth. Other factors influencing the amount of alcohol in breast milk include how fast it is consumed, whether it is consumed with food, the mother’s body weight, and individual variations in alcohol absorption and metabolism.3,5

Blood alcohol levels in a nursing infant depend on the amount of alcohol in breast milk, but also on the infant’s capacity to metabolize alcohol. In a newborn, alcohol is metabolized at 25% to 50% of the rate observed in adults.3,6
Source: contemporaryobgyn.com

So, Op, a baby can't metabolize alcohol as fast as an adult and that's the concern coupled with the fact that you are drinking SO much in one sitting. Drinking 4-5 cocktails at one BBQ is concerning. And, if you repeat this behavior, that's very problematic.

Your comment, like so many on this thread, ignores the fact that the amount of alcohol that ends up in breast milk is tiny - about the same as what is in a cup of fruit juice.