Take the Alcohol and Breastfeeding Quiz
April 11, 2009 by Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor
Filed under health of the baby, health of the mother, medication, nutrition
Test your knowledge of how alcohol affects breast milk with these 8 questions! The trivia was derived from studies compiled on the LactMed database as of April 2009. For information about drinking and breastfeeding, see this article on alcohol and the controversial Milkscreen test. For current information on drugs and lactation, visit the LactMed database.
Photo by Steve Woods
1. Nursing after 1 or 2 drinks (including beer) causes the infant to:
a) increase milk intake.
b) decrease milk intake.
c) Milk intake remains unaffected.
2. Nursing or pumping within one hour before ingesting alcohol:
a) does not affect the level of alcohol in the milk.
b) increases the level of alcohol in the milk.
c) decreases the level of alcohol in the milk.
3. Breastmilk alcohol levels are:
a) the same as blood alcohol levels.
b) higher than blood alcohol levels.
c) lower than blood alcohol levels.
4. While food consumption can delay the peak of breastmilk alcohol levels, the peak generally occurs:
a) one hour after ingestion of alcohol.
b) two hours after ingestion of alcohol.
c) three hours after ingestion of alcohol.
5. When a baby nurses after a mother consumes alcohol, the baby sleeps:
a) better.
b) worse.
c) the same.
6. True or false: The American Academy of Pediatrics rates alcohol as “usually compatible with breastfeeding.”
a) True.
b) False.
7. What minimum level of alcohol consumption affects infants negatively and is associated with shortened duration of breastfeeding?
a) Any alcohol consumption.
b) Casual alcohol consumption (1 drink per day).
c) Daily heavy use (more than 2 drinks daily).
8. One study estimated that a breastfed infant received a certain percentage of the mother’s weight-adjusted dosage of alcohol when she consumed 1.5 drinks. That percentage was:
a) between 0.5 to 3.3% of the mother’s weight-adjusted dosage.
b) between 3.3% to 5.0% of the mother’s weight-adjusted dosage.
c) between 5.0% to 8.3% of the mother’s weight-adjusted dosage.
The Answers
1. b. Nursing after 1 or 2 drinks can decrease the infant’s milk intake by 20 to 23% in the 3-4 hours after ingestion of alcohol. However, the infants increase the number of feedings over the next several hours and total milk consumption over 20 hours is the same. Smart babies!
2. c. Nursing or pumping within one hour before drinking alcohol may slightly decrease the amount of alcohol in the milk.
3. a. Breastmilk alcohol levels closely parallel blood alcohol levels.
4. a. Breastmilk alcohol levels peak approximately one hour after ingestion of alcohol, although food consumption can delay the peak.
5. b. Babies slept more frequently for shorter periods of time during the 3.5 to 4 hours after alcohol intake.
6. a. True, the AAP category is “usually compatible with breastfeeding.”
7. c. Heavy drinking is dangerous. Casual drinking is unlikely to cause short- or long-term effects particularly if the mother waits 2 to 2.5 hours per drink before nursing.
8. a. The study showed the breastfed infant received between 0.5 to 3.3% of the adjusted dose.
How did you do? What surprised you the most?
I scored 6 / 8. I was most surprised that pumping or nursing immediately before drinking could reduce alcohol in the milk. If it’s the same as blood alcohol levels (which I knew), then what difference should it make? The human body is a strange and mysterious thing.
Ditto what Amber said. I’ve never heard that about nursing *before* drinking, and I’m not sure how that works, physiologically.
In one study it appeared that pumping before ingesting alcohol slows the alcohol absorption and elimination rate somehow. It looks like the hormonal/neural responses to suckling impact both rates. Here’s the link to the abstract: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18596681?dopt=Abstract
Very interesting! I, too, was surprised about the milk alcohol level lowering if mom nurses or pump before drinking.
Once you’ve given birth, breast feeding is the single most important thing you can do to protect your baby and help to promote good health. Best of all, breast feeding is free. Along with saving you money on HMR (Human Milk Replacement), breast feeding can also help you to keep your medical bills down. Babies that are fed with formula get sicker more often and more seriously than babies that are breast fed they also have more ear infections, respiratory