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Pregnancy is the time of a lot of changes a soon-to-be mom faces. The first thing many mom’s quit during pregnancy is drinking alcohol. And, as soon as they deliver the baby, they start drinking alcohol. But, the question of having alcohol while breastfeeding haunts the mind of every other mom who haves it. In this blog, we will discuss the effect of alcohol while breastfeeding.
Alcohol Effects on Breastmilk
Alcohol reaches the breast milk ducts of the mother. As per research, the quantity of alcohol in the bloodstream matches the levels present in breastmilk. Therefore, the correct proportion is necessary. The second question that troubles mothers concern the proportions of it.
If we believe studies, the more you drink alcohol, the long hours it will stay in your milk and the bloodstream. Also, its concentration becomes higher. After a single drink, approximately 30 to 60 minutes, the bloodstream has high alcohol levels and so is the case with breastmilk. Also, it depends on your body and weight as to how quickly you digest the alcohol effect. For example, if you consume one or two shot, it will leave your system in 3 hours at min that can vary in many cases.
Though it isn’t supported by any scientific research, it’s believed that babies dislike the taste of alcohol, thus, breastfeed less.
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Alcohol Effects on the Baby
If the mother starts drinking straight after giving birth, it gets hard for the newborn and the older babies to digest or metabolize the alcohol present in the breastmilk. As your baby is in the developing stage of the brain with an immature liver, it can be susceptible to alcoholic effects. Though consuming drinks once in a while aren’t stated destructive through any reliable scientific evidence, but drinking regularly surely is.
The issues that observed by a mother who drinks excessively during breastfeeding and the baby are:
- Sleeping patterns disrupted.
- Experience poor weight gain.
- Delayed Psychomotor Skills.
- Later in life, cognitive delay can occur.
Also, the mothers that drink less alcohol faces issues of sleep pattern with their babies.
Let’s Face A Myth!
A common thing heard while a breastfeeding mom who starts indulging in alcohol is that drinking helps to increase the milk, somehow isn’t true at all. If you believe science, then it suggests you stay away from alcohol, as it decreases your breastmilk.
Related Topic: These 7 things a pregnant women never want to hear
Pumping & Dumping
In this context, this is another piece of advice given to drunk breastfeeding mothers. It is not a success of pumping out breastmilk to drain alcohol out of the stream by dumping it in the dustbin.
This technique is only suitable to use if you feel congested, full or uncomfortable. It will help to relieve or relax you after pumping. Otherwise, this pumping and dumping technique isn’t of use. It won’t work as a catalyst to exit alcohol from your breastmilk.
Always keep this intact in your mind that pumping dumping won’t empty alcohol levels in your milk and, there would be some amount of alcohol in your breastmilk. The chances of success for this technique to remove alcohol are very bleak.
Best Advice You Can Work On!
As we have come to the end of this, we would like to suggest some pieces of the best bits of advice you can follow through neglecting the urgency of consuming alcohol while breastfeeding.
- Take weekly spas to feel relaxed.
- Spend quality time with your loved ones.
- Call your friends and schedule night-outs to feel calm and relaxed.
We understand that you might feel an urge of relaxing through a shot of alcohol, but we wouldn’t recommend you to do this, as alcohol is dangerous for your babies.
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