- One alcoholic drink consumed over an hour takes two or three hours for the female liver to process. Three to four drinks consumed over an hour would take the liver six to 12 hours to detoxify!
- The concentration of alcohol in breast milk is the same or slightly higher than the level in mother's blood
If you do decide to drink while breastfeeding, here are some tips for minimizing the impact of alcohol on your breast fed baby:
- Always drink slowly and space out your drinks and the time you drink them
- Drink extra water, eat before and during the time you drink alcohol
- Limit the number of drinks you have
- Choose low alcohol drinks
- Try diluting your drinks and sipping them
- You can express breast milk with a breast pump, and store that milk to use if you have been drinking, rather than breastfeeding while drinking.
- If you have been drinking, express breast milk and discard this after drinking. Feed baby with milk you have expressed off before you had a drink.
- Pump and dump
- Wait at least two to three hours after consuming the last drink, before breastfeeding your baby at your breast.
For more information about breastfeeding, view our website http://www.breastmates.co.nz
