Dr. Newman mentioned Puritanism in his post on alcohol consumption by
lactating women.  He has probably hit it correctly.  The reason it
bothers me is women CHOOSE to drink.  Taking medications is usually a
NECESSITY.  I personally don't think drinking alcohol at any time in
one's life is necessary.  I did a study on infants who died while
sleeping with their parents.  There were very few instances but almost
95% of the time it involved the use of alcohol or drugs by the parents.
Sometimes it was an impaired father who smothered the baby.
Teen age girls and boys in an effort to imitate adult behavior drink,
engage in risk taking behavior and become pregnant and or diseased.
Adults also make poor choices while drinking too much.  And too much is
defined individually.  You cannot determine the effects of alcohol on
any one by the number of ounces consumed.  It is determined by body
weight, tolerance, time spread of the drinking, % of alcohol in the
drink, etc.  As lactation specialists I believe it is always our
responsibility to err on the side of caution and watch out for the baby.
If that means advising a woman who puts her need for alcohol ahead of
her need to provide alcohol free milk to her baby then I will continue
to advise her to pump and dump.

Debi Lanning
St. Petersburg, FL.