Booze and Breastmilk: the Science

[Deleted]

Dr. Jack Newman posted a link to this blog from a few years ago today on his FB feed. biologybrain-simonsays.blogspot.ca/2008/12/alcohol-content-of-breast-milk.html?m=1

Alcohol content of breast milk
Alcohol content in breast milk : Cheers!

Abstract/Introduction:
All nursing mothers worry about how their food and drink affect their child. One big concern is alcoholic beverages. For years mothers have been told to avoid even a sip of alcohol. However, many women have heard stories of their ancestors drinking beer to increase milk production and just for enjoyment. As a new mother with a scientific mind (and ready access to forensic testing equipment), I decided to see who's idea was correct - the teetotalers or our ancestors.

Method:
First I took a sample of my milk (about 1 mL) prior to drinking any alcoholic beverage. I expressed the milk mid-nursing session to ensure I had a goodly portion of fore & hind milk. After completing the nursing session, I mixed myself an alcoholic beverage consisting of 2 oz of 80 proof (40%) vodka in 10 oz of soda (Sprite). I proceeded to drink the entire 12 oz in about 30 minutes. About 30 minutes after finishing (1 hour after beginning to drink), I expressed some milk (about 1 mL) and labeled it 'immediate'. I then waited 1 hour and expressed more milk (about 1 mL) and labeled it '2 hours'. In the 2 hours (from the beginning), I did not drink any more alcoholic beverages, drink other beverages, or eat any other foods. Another day, 1/2 of a beer (4.3% alcohol) and 2-6 oz glasses of wine were consumed within 1.5 hours. About an hour from the beginning of the last drink, a milk sample (about 1 mL) was taken. This sample was labeled '1 hour - 3 drinks'. Another sample was taken about an hour after that (2 hours after the beginning of the last drink). This sample was labeled '2 hours - 3 drinks'.

The samples were stored in the refrigerator until processing. An Agilent headspace instrument was used to run the tests. Propanol and ethanol standards were also tested to ensure the instrument was within limits. The instrument is maintained by the KSP Lab Toxicology Section and used in forensic determinations of blood and urine alcohol content.

Results:
The sample labeled as 'immediate' registered as 0.1370 mg/mL which correlates to 0.01370% alcohol in the sample. The sample labeled '2 hours' registered as 0.0000 mg/ml which correlates to 0.0000%. The sample labeled '1 hour - 3 drinks' registered as 0.3749 mg/mL which correlates to 0.03749% alcohol in the sample. The sample labeled '2 hours - 3 drinks' registered as 0.0629 mg/mL which correlates to 0.00629% alcohol in the sample.

Conclusion:
The alcohol content in breast milk immediately after drinking is equivalent to a 0.0274 proof beverage. That's like mixing 1 oz of 80 proof vodka (one shot) with 2919 oz of mixer . By the way, 2919 oz is over 70 liters. Two hours after drinking one (strong) drink the alcohol has disappeared from the sample. Completely harmless to the nursing infant. Drinking about 3 drinks in 1.5 hours resulted in higher numbers, but still negligible amounts of alcohol would be transferred to the child. One hour after imbibing in 3 drinks, the milk was the equivalent of 0.07498 proof beverage. That would be like adding 1 oz of 80 proof vodka (one shot) to 1066 oz of mixer (1066 oz is over 26 liters). Two hours after imbibing in 3 drinks, the milk was 0.01258 proof. That would be like adding 1 oz of 80 proof vodka to 3179 oz of mixer (over almost 80 liters). So, even though an infant has much less body weight, any of these percentage of alcohol in breast milk is unlikely to adversely affect the baby. Bottoms up!

Acknowledgement:
Forensic Toxicologist of the KSP Lab

[whitemerlot]

Thanks for posting. I feel guilty drinking more than a glass and my dd is 16 months and sleeps 6-10 hours every night before waking to nurse.

[Deleted]

Would I be a lush if I sent this to my husband? LOL.

[imojoebunny]

I am done BF, but this seems like a study that could have been done ages ago and would be useful for other studies on causation too. Good to know that there is practically no risk.

[CrazyLucky]

Wish you posted this three years ago

[Deleted]

I will admit that this is just one mom with access to forensic equipment. The thing is... even if the alcohol content was double or triple what she found it would still be negligible. This definitely put my mind at ease.

[toesie]

thank you for posting this. Why didn't some one do this long ago???!!! Now I can confidently enjoy my moscato.

[Deleted]

Thumbs up. I will continue with my current drinking habits. lol.

[holly116]

:Y:  Thanks for posting!  

[iamgrace]

::::Dances around::::

Guilt free glass of wine with dinner? Yes please!

[mswax]

Love this!!!

[catbus]

Sept 24, 2013 9:27:01 GMT -5 @littlemoxie said:

I've always been OK with nursing right after a beer or wine, so it's nice to have proof of what I suspected and have been doing.

Exactly. Though I wish I'd had this to cite when I overheard a couple women talking about how they wouldn't be comfortable nursing after a drink because "it all ends up in the milk." That was at a friend's son's birthday party, and I'd had a beer then nursed E. Their conversation was no coincidence. The best part was they were saying it was a good thing the same thing wasn't true for caffeine, because "I need my coffee." 

[bunch]

Thank you for sharing! Forget my husband, I'm emailing this to my moms club

[snickers]

good to know!

[froggy76]

Whoohoo!

I always felt comfortable nursing unless I was really buzzed. In the beginning, I tried those alcohol test strips, but they always said there was too much alcohol in my milk even after just one drink, so I threw them away and just did what I wanted

[glitzy07]

Good to know. I'm still pretty cautious and have only nursed after one drink. I'm almost more careful about caffeine, because I don't want to have my baby be up all night!

When we went to the fair a few weeks back, I ordered a beer from H's friend that worked at one of the bars. He said, "Aren't you feeding? Here, you can have a short" while he poured H a tall. I tried explaining that one beer wouldn't do anything, but he didn't quite get it.