Well said Nikki. I happen to believe that many of our sweeping statements about alcohol consumption during lactation are culturally biased. We think nothing of criticizing poorly constructed and flawed studies when they don't support breastfeeding but we don't hesitate to quote poor studies when they back up our opinions!

Holly Mcspadden, IBCLC




________________________________
From: Nikki Lee <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Tuesday, October 27, 2009 2:17:33 PM
Subject: alcohol consumption in breastfeeding

Dear Friends:

I feel that the public has been frightened about reasonable alcohol use
while breastfeeding. Alcohol is a by-product of some metabolic processes,
and drinking for enhancement of taste and pleasure has been with humans
since the beginning. Butterflies will cluster to drink fermented sap, and
other animals will partake of fermented foods found in the wild because it
is pleasurable.

A new study has been published that reveals yet another magical property of
our life-sustaining breasts. It is titled "Lactational State Modifies
Alcohol Pharmacokinetics in Women" by Pepino, Steinmeyer and Mennella,
published in Alcohol Clin Exp Res in 2007, 31(6)
Three groups of women were subjects. One group had never been pregnant and
wasn't lactating. Another group had been pregnant and wasn't lactating; they
were formula-feeding. The third group had been pregnant and was lactating
(exclusively breastfeeding 2 to 5 month old babies).

Guess which group had the lowest blood alcohol levels after ingesting the
test dose??

I quote the first sentence of the conclusion: "The systemic availability of
alcohol is diminished during lactation.........." The authors hypothesize
that lactation modifies the pharmacokinetics of alcohol."

Now where does it go? What do the breasts do with it? The mothers in all 3
groups felt equally buzzed.

warmly,

Nikki Lee RN, BSN, Mother of 2, MS, IBCLC, CCE, CIMI
craniosacral therapy practitioner
www.breastfeedingalwaysbest.com

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