It's just as important to safeguard your baby from the effects of alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, and marijuana while breastfeeding as it was when you were pregnant.
|Substance||What it does||What you can do|
How much alcohol your baby gets from your milk depends on how much you drink and when. Studies have shown that alcohol levels in breast milk peak about 30 to 90 minutes after your last drink. It takes two to three hours for one drink to clear your system.
Alcohol consumption suppresses lactation, can harm your baby's motor development, and can affect your nursing baby's eating and sleeping.
Limited amounts of alcohol are usually safe while nursing if you take precautions. After you have a drink with alcohol, wait at least two hours before breastfeeding, or you may need to "pump and dump." Or you can express and store breast milk before having a drink.
Drink water and eat before or while you have your drink to help lower the amount of alcohol in your blood and your milk.
Taking in more than 300 mg of caffeine a day (about the amount in three 5-ounce cups of coffee) might affect your baby. When caffeine enters your bloodstream, a small amount of it ends up in your breast milk.
Your baby's body can't easily break down and excrete caffeine, especially in the first few months of life, so over time it may accumulate in her system. In the meantime, it may make her irritable and unable to sleep.
|Limit your caffeine intake to less than 300 mg per day – maybe even less if you're nursing a newborn or preterm baby. Keep in mind that in addition to coffee, tea, and energy drinks, some soft drinks and dark chocolate also contain significant amounts of caffeine. Check our caffeine chart to see how much is in popular beverages and foods.|
The amount of nicotine in a smoker's breast milk is greater than the amount in her bloodstream. Cigarette smoke is a complex mixture containing about 4,000 chemical compounds, including more than 60 carcinogens. How many of these compounds are found in a mother's milk, and at what levels, has not been determined.
Studies have shown that babies sleep less when their mothers smoke prior to breastfeeding. In addition, heavy smoking can significantly reduce your milk production.
Babies of smokers – breastfed or not – are prone to colic and respiratory illnesses. Smoking (whether during pregnancy or around the baby after birth) increases the risk of SIDS.
Stop smoking if you can – for your sake and your baby's. If you can't quit yet, limit yourself to as few cigarettes as possible, consider switching to cigarettes with less nicotine, and try not to light up for several hours before a feeding. Smoking immediately after breastfeeding gives you a few hours for the amount of nicotine in your milk to decrease.
Never smoke around your baby or inside your home or car (or any indoor area where your baby may be). Wash your hands and face and change your shirt after smoking.
Keep in mind that even if you smoke, your breast milk is still best for your baby.
When a breastfeeding mother smokes marijuana, THC (the active component of the drug) appears in her breast milk in quantities that can reach eight times the amount in her bloodstream. In addition, secondhand smoke increases the baby's exposure to the drug. And the results are long-lasting: Babies exposed to marijuana in breast milk will excrete THC in their urine for two to three weeks after exposure.
There are no conclusive studies on the long-term effects of THC on breastfed babies. Preliminary studies and animal studies suggest that babies exposed to THC show signs of sedation, relaxed muscle tone, and poor sucking. (THC can also decrease the quantity of breast milk.)
In addition, according to one study, exposure to marijuana through breast milk may result in decreased motor development at one year. (Another study found no such link.) There is concern that THC may also alter brain cells during the time when a baby is experiencing significant brain growth. Also keep in mind that marijuana bought on the street is sometimes laced with other harmful substances.
Avoid marijuana and other recreational drugs while you're nursing. While research is ongoing, there's evidence of harmful long-term effects.
If you're unable to stop using marijuana, the American Academy of Pediatrics says that you should not breastfeed.
Read one expert's answer to whether it's safe for moms who breastfeed to smoke marijuana.