drinking alcohol during breastfeeding

Hi, a friend of mine recently gave birth to her first child. Her daughter is very beautiful, but I am concerned about her health. I have seen, on more than one occasion, my friend drinking. Because she is breastfeeding I worry that this habit will have immeasurable consequences on her daughter. I have tried to talk to my friend about it, but she says that her drinking has no side effects on her child. Do you have some hard facts about alcohol drinking during breastfeeding? Maybe if I confront my friend with these facts, she will realize the error of her ways.

Hi, unfortunately, the hard cold facts that would convince your friend that alcohol drinking while breastfeeding will have consequences on her baby just don't exist. In fact, some doctors believe that one or two glasses of vine daily don't have any effect on baby who is breastfed. They only say that the alcohol should not be drunken three to four hours before the breastfeeding. On the other hand, some studies have shown that even these amounts of alcohol may have negative side effects on baby's growth and development. In either case, doctors don't recommend to breastfeeding mothers to drink alcohol. I am sorry that I don't have something better to say, but this is how things stand. I personally agree with your point of view. The only thing I could advise you is to keep talking to your friend about the negative effects about alcohol drinking during breastfeeding. Maybe she will decide to listen to you if you are persistent enough.