Drink and Nurse Responsibly

(Newswire.net — December 14, 2017) Cheyenne, Wyoming — The notion of drinking while nursing may seem oxymoronic to many, even blasphemous to some, but it’s really just a matter of exercising self-control and employing safeguards. As with everything, moderation is the key so for enjoying a night out drinking with friends, careful planning and clear limitations must be established.

“Having an occasional alcoholic drink has not been shown to be harmful to a breastfed infant,” attests the Canadian Family Physician in their Best Start publication. “A single exposure of alcohol from breast milk may have a mildly sedating effect or alter the odor or taste of the breast milk, ideally it is best to avoid breastfeeding for about two hours after drinking one alcoholic beverage.” 

With the experts in agreement for the most part that it’s quite fine to consume alcohol in very small amounts while nursing, it is now time to outline the perimeters of going about it. 

“‘One drink’ consists of a 12 ounce beer with 5% alcohol, or a 5 ounce glass of wine with 11% alcohol, or 1.5 ounces of 40% (80 proof) liquor,” says MommyMeds.com. “Only time will eliminate alcohol from breast milk.” 

Committed to the safety of mother and child, and equally confident that a drink may be had during lactation, MommyMeds.com provides a milk alcohol calculator on their website.  

Based on the amount of alcohol consumed, your weight and the assumption that your liver is in relatively good health, an algorithm may be used to determine how long it will take for alcohol to totally metabolize out of your system. 

“When you drink alcohol, it goes straight to the stomach and small intestine, where the blood vessels absorb it into the bloodstream and eventually, it travels to the liver, where enzymes break down the alcohol,” explains SELF Magazine. “Our systems can break down approximately 1 ounce of alcohol an hour, so any extra accumulates in the blood and body tissues until the liver can process it.” 

Bearing in mind how the body processes alcohol and the amount of time it takes to do so given a certain volume of alcohol are both important considerations when planning to have a drink. 

While calculations are all good and dandy, the ultimate proof of sobriety is to take a sample test. The HealthyWiser™ PureMilk™ alcohol analysis kit is a convenient and reliable option as it provides results with 99.9% accuracy within seconds.  

The easy to read results chart clearly indicates how much alcohol, or lack thereof, has been detected in the milk sample. So at the right time, with a PureMilk™ alcohol-free report, moms can contentedly resume feedings.