Peak alcohol levels in breastmilk occur 30 to 60 minutes after ingestion on an empty stomach and 60 to 90 minutes when taken with food. The alcohol content of breastmilk falls as the blood alcohol level falls due to retrograde diffusion of alcohol from the milk back to the bloodstream. Emptying the breast ("pumping and dumping") does not increase the speed of elimination of alcohol either from the milk or from the body as a whole. Alcohol imparts a detectible odor to breastmilk, which apparently stimulates sucking initially. However, only one drink taken just before nursing has the net effect of decreasing milk intake by almost one-fourth during the nursing session.
-Journal of Human Lactation, Dec. 1995
Reprinted from Midwifery Today E-News (Vol 1 Issue 47, Nov 19, 1999)
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