Can I still breastfeed if I’ve had alcohol, cigarettes or lots of coffee?
Alcohol Although medical professionals highly recommend not drinking alcohol while breastfeeding, occasional alcohol intake by the breastfeeding mother is considered safe by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The concentration of alcohol in breast milk is the same as the mother’s blood alcohol concentration. Therefore, the more she drinks, the more alcohol will be present in the breast milk. Heavy alcohol use, binge drinking, and regular consumption of two or more drinks a day is discouraged for the health of both the mother and baby. For the health of your baby, it is wise for nursing mothers to avoid alcohol consumption. Mothers who have an occasional drink can reduce the effect on the infant by having the drink shortly AFTER breastfeeding and waiting to breastfeed again until most of the alcohol has cleared from her body. After drinking one standard drink, the alcohol will be present in the breast milk for 2-3 hours. It can take up to 13 hours for larger quantities of alcohol to cl
