How Much Should I Pump?

hi D....from kellymom:

Breastfeeding and Alcohol
By Kelly Bonyata, IBCLC

Guidelines
Current research says that occasional use of alcohol (1-2 drinks) is not harmful to the nursing baby. The American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Drugs classifies alcohol (ethanol) as a “Maternal Medication Usually Compatible With Breastfeeding.”
Many experts recommend against drinking more than 1-2 drinks per week.
It is recommended that nursing moms avoid breastfeeding during and for 2-3 hours after drinking (Hale 2002).
There is no need to pump & dump milk after drinking alcohol, other than for mom's comfort -- pumping & dumping does not speed the elimination of alcohol from the milk.
Alcohol does not increase milk production, and has been shown to inhibit let-down and decrease milk production (see below).
If you're away from your baby, try to pump as often as baby usually nurses (this is to maintain milk supply, not because of the alcohol). At the very least, pump or hand express whenever you feel uncomfortably full - this will help you to avoid plugged ducts and mastitis.
In general, if you are sober enough to drive, you are sober enough to breastfeed. Less than 2% of the alcohol consumed by the mother reaches her blood and milk. Alcohol peaks in mom's blood and milk approximately 1/2-1 hour after drinking (but there is considerable variation from person to person, depending upon how much food was eaten in the same time period, mom's body weight and percentage of body fat, etc.). Alcohol does not accumulate in breastmilk, but leaves the milk as it leaves the blood; so when your blood alcohol levels are back down, so are your milk alcohol levels.

Always keep in mind the baby's age when considering the effect of alcohol. A newborn has a very immature liver, so minute amounts of alcohol would be more of a burden. Up until around 3 months of age, infants detoxify alcohol at around half the rate of an adult. An older baby or toddler can metabolize the alcohol more quickly.

Effects of alcohol on breastfeeding and the breastfed baby
Alcohol does not increase milk production. In fact, babies nurse more frequently but take in less milk in the 3-4 hours after mom has had a drink, and one study showed a 23% decrease in milk volume with one drink (Mennella & Beauchamp 1991, 1993; Mennella 1997, 1999).
2+ drinks may inhibit let-down (Coiro et al 1992; Cobo 1974).
One study showed changes in the infant's sleep-wake patterning after short-term exposure to small amounts of alcohol in breastmilk -- infants whose mothers were light drinkers slept less (Mennella & Gerrish 1998).
Daily consumption of alcohol has been shown in the research to increase the risk for slow weight gain in the infant.
Daily consumption of alcohol (1+ drinks daily) has been associated with a decrease in gross motor development (Little et al 1989).

Page last modified: 12/05/2005
Written: 5/1998

As long as you are no longer feeling the effects of the alchol it is safe to feed it to your child. What I have gone by in the past is I let 6 hours pass before my child can drink the milk again. So you don't necessarily have to pump and dump... Do a search on google about it and you will find lot's of topics about it!

Here's a link to a helpful article about alcohol in breastmilk:
http://www.babycenter.com/0_alcohol-and-nursing-moms_3547.bc

This paragraph from the article answers your question:
If you're going to enjoy an occasional alcoholic beverage or have more than one drink, wait at least two hours per drink before nursing your baby to give the alcohol a chance to dissipate. One drink is considered 4 ounces of wine, one beer, or one mixed drink. Alcohol isn't stored in breast milk, so "pumping and dumping" (using a breast pump to empty your breasts and then throwing out the collected milk) serves no purpose. And be sure to down a nonalcoholic drink for every cocktail you quaff, to ward off dehydration.

Hi D.,
I know that you will think that I am kidding, but they have a new product out that is a "breast-alizer." It can detect if there is alcohol in your breast milk and let you know when it is safe to nurse again. (The pump and dump method isn't always reliable). I believe this is the link to the website:
http://milkscreen.com
Best of luck and enjoy your night out!

i usually wait at least 4 hours after my last drink before i will nurse my son. max i have is 3 glasses of wine...

If your worried about the alcohol... limit it to only one drink if none..

Everything I've learned about this subject basically points to time - and not amount. It takes a full two hours for it to cycle through your system and our of your milk. So from the last time you drink alcohol - it seems you nee d to wait 2 hours before you will have "safer" milk. I'd advise you to store up as much as possible. I'm back at work and finding it hard some days to pump twice and thus if I don't bring home enough I have to dip into my freezer reserve which is getting smaller and smaller. I wish I had stockpiled even more.

D.,

I don't know the answer to your question, but I do recall that my midwives suggested that moms drink a glass of wine a day to help milk production. They don't say to stop nursing during that time. I never did that, but I do recall hearing that. That advice certainly confused me because I always thought that drinking alcohol dehydrates you, which would seem to reduce milk production. Hopefully someone will respond who knows more about this.

D.

Hi D.,

Just a note about some other advice you received, drinking a glass of wine a day does not promote milk production. Women used to be told that beer did because of the yeast/hops but alcohol is a diuretic, dries you out in a variety of ways and does not help milk production.

You do not need to pump and dump. The alcohol "evaporates" from your body - after 6 hours is what I've been told by lactation consultants, so you don't need to keep encouraging your body to release and then purge milk. You of course can pump to relieve discomfort if you opt not to put your baby to the breast during that time.

As for how much milk to leave your baby, I couldn't tell you. You didn't mention his age or how often he eats. I would leave more than you think you need since you can freeze whatever your baby doesn't eat

Good luck!