Australian Lactnetters may wish to provide feedback on the draft guidelines for safe drinking produced by the NHMRC. These guidelines can be downloaded from 
http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/consult/index.htm#alcohol
My concerns with the recommendations is that they treat the risk of drinking during pregnancy and while breastfeeding as equivalent (when the risk is clearly very, very different) and do not contain any discussion of the need to weigh up the risk of breastfeeding after having consumed alcohol against the risk of giving babies infant formula (we have very little evidence of a negative impact of any impact of moderate drinking on breastfed babies but a large body of evidence that a single bottle of infant formula through to complete weaning has negative health affects on the baby). There is also no discussion of how to minimise the exposure of the infant to alcohol if the mother consumes alcohol while breastfeeding. 

These 3 deficiencies are serious errors in my opinion and can only lead to the increased us of infant formula in Australia (and therefore harm the health of babies and mothers).

Comment on the guidelines can be provided via the following address. I would encourage as many people as possible to do so.
Project Officer - Australian Alcohol Guidelines
Evidence Translation Section
NHMRC
GPO Box 1421
CANBERRA ACT 2601
Tel: (02) 6217 9386  Fax: (02) 6217 9035
Email: [log in to unmask]

Karleen Gribble

Australia



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