Booze and breast is OK for bub

IT IS safe for breastfeeding mums to enjoy an alcoholic drink, research has found.

For the first time, a groundbreaking Australian study has found moderate drinking does not harm the baby, provided women take precautions with the timing of feeds.

Almost 50 per cent of Australian women enjoy a tipple while breastfeeding, and drinkers are more likely to be older, better educated and more affluent than those who abstain.

“When lactating women drink, intake levels are typically quite low and most use multiple strategies to minimise alcohol being passed on to infants, ” lead researcher Delyse Hutchinson of Deakin University said.

“The study results suggest that these strategies are likely to be effective.”

The “pump and dump” method of expressing milk before drinking or avoiding feeding immediately after consuming alcohol are tactics often used by mothers.

The researcher recommends that women stick to no more than two standard drinks a day as outlined in the National Health and Medical Research Council’s guidelines for pregnancy and breastfeeding.

“While this study certainly does not condone excessive alcohol consumption in new mums, it does suggest that those who have the occasional drink, while using strategies to prevent alcohol reaching the infant, can do so without fear of causing harm,” Dr Hutchinson said.

The findings by the National Drug & Alcohol Research Centre, UNSW and the Deakin University were presented yesterday at The Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs conference.