In honor of World Breastfeeding Week, we are offering a special FREE offer on our milkscreen home test to detect alcohol in breast milk.  Buy any 3, 12 or 20-pack of milkscreen and we will send you a 3-pack for FREE!   Offer is valid through August 31, 2009 at www.upspringbaby.com

Sadly  there have been some incidents lately where women have been accused of breastfeeding their infants while intoxicated.  Last week, one of those mothers plead guilty to charges of child neglect for breastfeeding her child while she was drunk.

While these cases are extreme, it does bring to light the question of alcohol and breastfeeding.  Unfortunately some mothers mistakenly think that they can consume alcohol and breastfeed without any possible negative effects on their baby.  Obviously this is not true, but not terribly surprising given that there are no consistent guidelines regarding alcohol consumption for women that may be breastfeeding.

Ethanol from alcoholic drinks can move quickly from the mother’s bloodstream within an hour of ingestion. Depending on the person’s metabolism and how much alcohol was consumed over time, it can take two or more hours for the alcohol to leave the mother’s system.  It is important to remember that alcohol is not trapped in breast milk, and as long as the mother has measureable blood alcohol levels, the breast milk will also contain alcohol.  Draining the breasts by ‘Pumping and Dumping’ will not remove the alcohol from the breast milk and if a child is breastfeeding during this time, they can receive up to about one fifth of the amount present in the blood.

Because of the inconsistent guidelines surrounding alcohol and breastfeeding and the fact that every woman’s metabolism is different, the only way to tell if there is alcohol in your breast milk is with the Milkscreen home test.