Milk is made from your blood, so what you drink can impact your milk supply. 

💦 How much water should you be drinking? There are some ridiculous answers out there. If your breast milk production has decreased, helpful people may suggest that you chug tons of water. Your lack of water intake may contribute to but is not completely responsible for your supply drop. Drinking too much water can inadvertently harm your milk supply

💦 When you drink too much water, your body tries to restore the electrolyte balance in your body by dumping the excess water into your urine. This results in water being diverted away from your breasts, which in turn decreases your milk supply. Water dense foods can also be just as hydrating as plain water from the tap. 

💦 You will lose up to 30oz of water through your breast milk to your baby; so do try to drink 8-12 glasses of water a day

☕️ Coffee is safe to drink: 300-500mg of caffeine per day max

☕️ Younger babies (< 6 months), preterm and medically fragile babies process caffeine slower and they may be sensitive to it. 

☕️ If you consistently drank coffee during pregnancy you baby is already used to caffeine

☕️ It takes 15-20 minutes for coffee to hit your bloodstream and is usually completely gone by 4-7 hours. So if you’re concerned or having it for the first time after birth, either breastfeed baby first and then have your coffee or have it while breastfeeding

🍷 According to the CDC, moderate alcohol (up to 1 standard drink per day) is not known to be harmful to baby

🥂 Less than 2% of alcohol reaches breastmilk and typically peaks within 1/2-1 hour after consumption *however* factors such as food, weight & body fat need to be considered

🥂 Alcohol does not accumulate but leaves breastmilk as it leaves the bloodstream. There is no need to pump and dump when consuming limited amounts of alcohol

🥂 If you are feeling like you NEED to consume large amounts of alcohol regularly, speaking to a qualified professional is admirable and a very good option

ALCOHOL AND BREASTFEEDING

Is it ok to have alcohol and breastfeed? The short answer is yes, in moderation. No, you don’t need to pump and dump for 1 standard drink. Yes, those alcohol testing milk strips are kinda dumb. 

Alcohol passes freely into breast milk and peaks around 30-60 minutes after consumption (60-90 minutes if you drink with food) so what you would breathalyze you would “breastalyze”. This does not mean your milk has an much alcohol as you consumed or as a straight up alcoholic beverage. It means you milk has the same amount of alcohol as your blood. For instance, if your Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) is 0.10 (or 0.10%, 1/10 of 1 percent) from drinking, you breast milk has 0.10% alcohol in it. In comparison, a typical beer has 4.5% alcohol, a glass of wine has 15% alcohol, and a shot of vodka has 40% alcohol. 

Let’s interpret that: if you breastfeed while you’re having your first drink, your baby will most likely be finished feeding before the alcohol hits your system. There’s no need to pump and dump your milk. Only time clears the alcohol from your system. If you’re breastfeeding a newborn, premature or medically compromised infant, you’ll want to be more cautious of the alcohol you consume and may want to consider waiting longer to breastfeed than an older baby. Such a small portion of alcohol gets into your milk, if you have an older baby and have only had one drink there’s really no need to wait to pump or feed. 

If you want to have an occasional drink, I will never judge you!!! Go for it!! If you need alcohol, large quantities or alcohol or are struggling with alcohol, please find a qualified counselor to work with ❤️ 🍻