Can I drink alcohol & breastfeed? The truth about the safety of breastfeeding & drinking alcohol
- jaimiezaki
- Jul 29
- 12 min read
Updated: Oct 28
Is it safe to consume alcohol when breastfeeding? Do you have to pump and dump if you drink alcohol? Today we're diving in.
Ever wondered about the safety of consuming alcohol while breastfeeding? Today, IBCLC Jaimie Zaki is going to tell the TRUTH about breastfeeding & drinking alcohol, the science and the safety. If you're curious about the safety of drinking alcohol when breastfeeding, whether you should pump & dump breastmilk, and more this episode will dive into myths, misconceptions, and give expert advice for finding the balance of safely enjoying alcohol while safely breastfeeding your baby.
Don’t fall for fear based marketing when it comes to breastfeeding and alcohol
Can You Drink Alcohol While Breastfeeding? The Truth Every Mama Bear Should Know
Hey Mama Bear — let’s get real about something that stirs up way more drama than it should: drinking alcohol while breastfeeding.
Maybe you’ve seen those viral videos of moms dramatically dumping breastmilk down the drain after enjoying a glass of wine. Or maybe someone told you that “good moms” never drink while nursing. Either way, there’s a lot of fear and confusion floating around — and it’s time we clear it up.
Breastmilk and Alcohol: the truth.
Breastfeeding and pregnancy are not the same. When you’re pregnant, your baby shares your bloodstream — so if you drink, your baby drinks too. But when you’re breastfeeding, your milk is made from your blood, not in it.
Here’s what that means: your blood alcohol content (BAC) and milk alcohol content (MAC) mirror each other. So if your BAC after one drink is 0.02%, then your milk alcohol content is also about 0.02%. That’s roughly equivalent to the alcohol content naturally found in orange juice — in other words, negligible.
Should breastfeeding mom pump & dump if she drinks alcohol?
Let’s bust this myth once and for all: You do not need to pump and dump after having a drink.
Breast milk doesn’t “store” alcohol; it enters and leaves your milk at the same rate it enters and leaves your blood. That means as your body metabolizes the alcohol, it disappears from your milk too.
If you’re safe to drive, you’re safe to nurse. Simple as that.
And if you’re feeling extra cautious? The best time to breastfeed or pump is actually while you’re sipping that drink, since your BAC hasn’t peaked yet (that happens about one hour later). By the time your baby’s ready to nurse again, your body has likely processed the alcohol completely.
Here’s what’s really unsafe if breastfeeding mothers drink alcohol
The real concern isn’t the milk — it’s your ability to safely care for your baby. If you’re tipsy or impaired, you could accidentally drop your baby or fall asleep while holding them, which can be dangerous.
So the golden rule: if you’re sober enough to safely hold and care for your baby, you’re sober enough to breastfeed your baby. And if you’ve been drinking — do not bed share with your baby (click here to read about safe bedsharing)
Don’t Fall for Fear-Based Marketing when it comes to Breastfeedinga and alcohol
Those “alcohol test strips” for breast milk? Total gimmick. They prey on your fear and confusion. They’re not accurate or scientifically supported — and they’ll just waste your money.
If you understand how alcohol actually moves through your body and milk, you don’t need a test strip to tell you whether you’re safe to nurse.
But What If You Just Don’t Feel Comfortable Breastfeeding and Drinking Alcohol?
That’s okay too. Your intuition matters. If your gut says no — skip it. What’s important is that you make your decision from a place of knowledge and confidence, not fear or guilt.
No mom should feel judged for deciding what’s right for her body and her baby. You are capable of making informed, empowered choices.
The Bottom Line
You are not a bad mom for enjoying a glass of wine while breastfeeding.
You don’t need to waste your liquid gold.
You don’t need to feel shame for doing your research and trusting your instincts.
So the next time someone gives you side-eye for holding a glass of wine and your baby at the same time, remember: you’re an informed mom who knows better.
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Transcript:
Hey Mama Bear. Welcome to the Breastfeeding With Confidence podcast. Do you dream of bonding with your baby through exclusive breastfeeding, but worry about breastfeeding pain or low milk supply? Maybe you're struggling with breastfeeding and no one seems to have any answers. I'm Jaimie — Doula, international Board certified lactation consultant, and Mom of five, and I have been where you are after working through painful latches, milk supply worries, and postpartum depression, and.
Supporting countless mothers through their breastfeeding journeys for over eight years. I'm here to tell you breastfeeding doesn't have to be perfect to be positive. Each week I'll share breastfeeding tips to help you prevent and overcome unexpected breastfeeding challenges so you can actually enjoy bonding with your baby.
If you are ready to shut out the toxic whispers of the world, embrace your God-given intuition and release your inner fierce Mama bear. Grab some coffee or your favorite herbal tea and let's dive in.
Hey, mama Bears. I'm back today with a frequently asked question that I don't think is talked about enough. Um, before we get started though, I wanted to say I apologize for the extra echo in here. Big news. I moved into my new office. I am so excited. , This is huge for me. Uh, we've been working really hard on this.
We actually have had the space for a while. Um, but we had a guest. Staying in there, so I couldn't turn it into my office. And then we had to do some remodeling and it's, it's not done, but it is done enough that I can be moved in and I am so, so, so excited. But I don't have like carpet or anything to absorb the echo yet.
So I apologize if there's a bit of an echo. Hopefully it's not too difficult to listen to me. But I'm gonna try to be quick today. If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen my recent. , Remix that I did with a creator who, in this video, she is being like super dramatic and covering her eyes and dumping, pumped milk down the drain.
And the comment says something about like, when you decided you wanted to have a glass of wine in whatever, guys, it brought up so much. It brought up so much, so many feelings for me. And I wanna share that with you guys today because when I shared that, I had a few comments on there being like, okay, but can I drink if I'm breastfeeding?
Is it safe? Why? Why would it be safe? How is it safe? Um, and so I know there are so many misconceptions around this topic. There always are. And I wanna start out by saying I am not advocating for being a drunk. I am not advocating for using alcohol to. Numb the pain. Like I am not advocating for alcoholism in any sense of the word.
Um, as somebody who's on the holistic side, I completely understand that there are a ton of health issues associated with alcohol. However, the reality is there are parents who are going to be in a situation where they may want to. IBE in a libation. Alright? We need to not shame those women.
Uh, there's nothing wrong with making an informed decision to consume alcohol while breastfeeding. So we're gonna dig into this topic briefly. Um, and I wanna say again. This is super controversial and I don't quite understand why. Um, but breastfeeding and pregnancy are not the same. They're not the same.
Yes, our bodies are sustaining our babies, but in a very different mechanism. Alright, so when you are pregnant and you drink alcohol, that pretty much goes straight to your baby. I would say there's still some debate on how unsafe that really is, and we basically take a very um. Um, extreme approach of absolutely no alcohol during pregnancy because we can't do studies to show what the safe limit would be.
However, what we know with breastfeeding is that our breast milk is made from our blood. Okay? So we know that whatever our BAC is, our MAC is, okay? Whatever our blood alcohol content is. Our milk alcohol content is theoretically so. What that means is if you have one alcoholic beverage and your blood alcohol content from that single beverage is 0.2%, actually it would be 0.02%, I'm sorry, 0.02%.
Then that's what your milk alcohol content would theoretically be. All right. If your baby is consuming a beverage with 0.02% alcohol, that would be the equivalent of you consuming orange juice. Okay. Um, I think there's actually technically higher alcohol content in orange juice, and I know there's always gonna be people who like, well, why are we using that argument?
We're not giving orange juice to babies either. Okay. Like, obviously, obviously the point is. That a, a body is not going to be affected by a 0.02% volume of alcohol, but here's where it gets even more complex or interesting. Okay? So if you, I, I always tell moms who are really, really worried about this, but also like, really, really, really wanna have a drink.
Um. Um, that the best time to pump or breastfeed is actually while you're having that drink because your blood alcohol content is going to peak at that one hour mark after the beverage and then by the two hour mark. It's pretty much out of your system unless you're continuing to consume alcohol. Um, so.
If you are, you know when your breast, your breasts make milk and you're holding milk in your breasts, there is some storage capacity. So if your baby is nursing while you are having your beverage, they're having this milk that is not yet tainted. Your blood alcohol content has not peaked yet and outwardly later, your baby most likely is not gonna be ready to eat again.
And then when they are ready to eat again around that two hour mark, that two and a half hour mark. The blood alcohol, or your blood alcohol content is negligible, is almost all out of your system by that point. That being said, truly in order for your milk to have a dangerous alcohol level, you would have to be so severely intoxicated.
So a lot of times the safety rule is if you are, people will say like, if you're safe to drive, you're safe to breastfeed. Um. And even still, like this is more about the safety of your baby. Making sure you don't drop them, making sure you don't sideline and fall asleep and roll over on them and, and not know it because you are inhibited.
Right? That is where that's coming from. It's not actually coming from the, the milk itself being dangerous. So when you see these viral reels about moms being like, oh, I wanted to have a weekend with the girls. I'm gonna pump and dump because I can have some fun. It's so sad to pump and dump, watching all that liquid gold go down the drain.
They're doing it for drama. It's range bait. If you breastfeed and consume alcohol, you do not have to pump and dump. You do not have to give your baby formula. You do not even have to give your baby pumped milk. You can give the milk straight from the tap. Um. Um, science really is pretty clear on this, and what I would say is it is up to each mom individually to decide what she's comfortable with.
I do believe that. And so if you are not comfortable giving your baby milk after you've consumed alcohol from an objective standpoint, I think that is, um, leaning on the really, really, really safe side. However, it's your right. But you should be making that decision from a place of being informed and just saying, you know what?
My gut tells me not to do this instead of being misinformed, having, um, a clear misunderstanding of what you're dealing with. And the worst part about it is that that often gets pushed off as judgment on other moms. I cannot tell you how many times I've been literally standing there breastfeeding my baby with a drink in my hand, and people have said things like.
You can't be drinking. And I'm like, first of all, you don't know what you're talking about. Second of all, mind your own business. I am literally an I-B-C-L-C, an international board certified lactation consultant.
And there is data on this, there is information on this, and people will still be like, oh, you did what? And it's like, dude, for real. I've had, um, moms who I know do consume alcohol, offer them a glass of wine, and they say, oh, I can't. Oh, are, are you okay? Is there a reason why I'm totally not judging? Uh, well, I'm breastfeeding like.
I'm not saying you have to have this drink, but you know, you can have one glass of wine breastfeeding, right? You're like, oh, it's not gonna hurt my baby. No. What? They're shocked. They're shocked. This is something that is, I wanna say common knowledge, but it's not. This is something that is still so misunderstood and so I just wanna say to you like.
This is the truth about breastfeeding and alcohol. It is not inherently unsafe. You are not a bad mom if you decide to consume alcohol and breastfeed. If you do decide to do it and you're worried, I recommend breastfeeding at the same time you're drinking, y'all can say cheers and drink together. Yeah. Um, it sounds funny, but I'm, I'm serious.
Like the biggest concern is, are you safe to interact with your baby without harming them? That is the biggest concern. Your milk is not a concern. And of course as always, like use common sense, be smart. Um, take care of yourself. I would never recommend binge drinking like in general, although we all do it sometimes, and that still probably doesn't mean you need to pump and dump.
That is going to be a personal judgment call. Um, but then you can always use the milk for something else. You can use the milk for a milk bath. You can use it. Um, I really am curious if there are any studies. On whether or not the milk alcohol content evaporates over time. If the milk is like left in a container, I don't know if that has ever been done.
Oh, and one last thing to say on this, people will often say like, oh, use an alcohol test strip. No, don't do it. Don't waste your money. That's stupid. Um, those are a gimmick designed to play on your fear. If you are informed, which this podcast just made you informed, you know that it doesn't actually matter if it does matter to you.
Then just err on the safe side and don't do it. Those alcohol test strips are completely unreliable. They're not scientific. Do not rely on an alcohol test strip. Do not waste your money on an alcohol test strip. Do not fall for these gimmicks. That's silly. , I will stand by that all day long. So that is my little spiel for today inspired by Instagram.
And again, when you see these creators. Being dramatic about their pumped milk and they've got thousands upon thousands upon thousands of comments and likes and hundreds of thousands of millions of views. Um, make sure that you are double checking the information they're giving you. Odds are, they're probably perpetuating some kind of myth about why they have to dump their milk and they're doing it for views.
I have even heard stories of it not being real milk and other people kind of quote whistle blowing on their own friends saying like, yeah, I watched her do this, and she filled it up with store-bought milk and then dumped it all for the optics. So please, please, please be careful what you're consuming on Instagram if you have a question about breastfeeding.
Come to somebody like me to ask the question and get a clear answer that is based in data and reality. I hope you found this helpful, and I hope this answer answered your question. If you have any other questions you would like me to cover, go ahead and reach out to me at Jamie zaki@littlebearlactation.com or on.
On Instagram at Little Bear lactation.
Alright, mama bear. That is a wrap for today. If this episode helps you feel a little more confident or a little more prepared for breastfeeding, can I ask you a quick favor? Go ahead and leave me a review. It helps other moms find this podcast and join us in this amazing community of fierce and confident Mama bears.
And hey, if you know a friend who could use some encouragement or real talk about pregnancy, breastfeeding, and all things motherhood, share this episode with her. You've got this Mama Bear Trust your instincts, stay fierce, and I'll catch you in the next episode.
Jaimie Zaki is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) and mom of 5! Jaimie has volunteered as a La Leche League Leader, worked as a nurse, doula, and birth photographer, and is the host of the Breastfeeding With Confidence Podcast and founder of the Confident MamaBear Society. Jaimie provides holistic breastfeeding advice for pregnant & new moms, helping them overcome unexpected latching trouble and milk supply issues. She empowers mothers to make informed decisions from a place of confidence and intuition.
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