Alcohol and breastfeeding

If you can manage it, breastfeeding is almost always best for your newborn baby. And if you are breastfeeding, the safest approach is not to drink any alcohol.

That’s because almost anything you eat or drink - including alcohol - passes to your breast milk.¹ 

How alcohol in breastmilk can affect your baby

If you drink, the level of alcohol in your breast milk will rise and fall along with the alcohol in your bloodstream.²

Babies are growing and developing rapidly. Alcohol can have a number of harmful effects, including damaging the developing brain³ and organs such as the liver. 

And while evidence suggests if a breastfeeding mother has an occasional drink it’s very unlikely to harm their baby,^4,5 regular exposure to alcohol in breast milk is linked to developmental delay. This puts your child at risk of not reaching the mental and physical milestones than are normal for their age.^6,7

How alcohol affects feeding

If you drink alcohol while breastfeeding, your breast milk will contain alcohol for a few hours after you’ve stopped drinking.⁸  And the more you drink, the longer it takes for your body to process the alcohol - it typically takes one to two hours to process one unit of alcohol (around half a small glass of wine, or half a pint of 4% strength beer) until it’s cleared from your bloodstream.⁹

If you are breastfeeding and you do choose to drink alcohol on occasion, the NHS advises to:

• Avoid breastfeeding for two to three hours per alcoholic drink you have, to avoid exposing your baby to alcohol
• Plan ahead by expressing milk for your baby before you intend to have a drink

Even if you just have a single drink, if practical it’s best to wait a couple of hours until breastfeeding, to minimise the risks for your baby.

Drinking alcohol can also affect how well your baby feeds. Alcohol disrupts the hormone that controls the ‘let-down’ of breast milk (the process that makes milk flow through the nipple).^10,11

Babies take around 20% less milk per feed in the three to four hours after alcohol is consumed. If you have chosen to ‘feed on demand’ this can mean your baby will compensate by wanting to feed more often,^12,13,14 or if you have a fixed schedule for feeding they might not get as much food.

Why expressing milk doesn’t clear it of alcohol

The level of alcohol in your breast milk falls as the level of alcohol in your bloodstream falls – expressing milk after having a drink won’t clear your breast milk of alcohol more quickly than usual.

However, if your breasts feel uncomfortable when you're not breast feeding for a few hours and you want to express some milk to relieve the discomfort, you shouldn’t feed it to your baby if you think it still might have alcohol in it. As an alternative, some mums choose to express milk and dispose of it  to relieve the discomfort.¹⁵

Planning ahead if you think you might drink

Don’t forget, the NHS also advises that if you do think you’re going to drink alcohol - for example as part of a social occasion - you can plan ahead and express some breast milk before you drink. You can then skip the first feed after the social function and give your baby the expressed milk you have ready instead.¹⁶

And if your baby is already having ‘mixed feeding’ - some breast, some bottle – then it makes sense to give a bottle as the first feed after you have had an alcoholic drink.

Tips for parents of babies and young children

Anyone that has a young baby - both mums and dads - will know that it’s incredibly tiring. But did you know that drinking alcohol can disrupt your sleep,¹⁷ just when you need it most? 

Taking a break from alcohol could be a great way of ensuring you’re prepared for the day (or night) ahead. Or, if you choose to drink, the best way to keep your risk from alcohol low – whether you have a new arrival in the house or not - is to follow the UK Chief Medical Officers’ low risk drinking guidelines. That means no more than 14 units a week (for both men and women), spread over three or more days with several drink-free days, and no bingeing.

If you want to cut down on your alcohol consumption, the MyDrinkaware app can help. We’ve got tips on cutting down together with your partner too, so you can make the most of the special time together with your new baby.

Download the free MyDrinkaware app