I have been reading with interest the posts on alcohol and as standing up in
front of you all waiting to be shot.

What I tell moms is that milk alcohol levels track blood alcohol levels
(Hale.)  If mom is legally drunk (in Arizona that is a blood alcohol content
of 0.1%) the milk is 0.1%.  If the baby drinks 4 ounces of milk he gets
0.004 oz alcohol.  That is between a small and medium drop.  I believe there
is probably more risk to the babe from being dropped by a drunken mom than
being fed the "tainted" milk.  Certainly there is more likelihood of errors
in formula mixing if that is the alternative.  I do tell moms that when she
is sober, so is her milk and it is safe to feed.

If mom is legally drunk and the baby needs to be fed; if there is no other
milk available than what is in her breasts; she can pump the milk, heat it
to boiling (alcohol has a rather low boiling point), cool the milk and then
feed it to the baby.

Out of the gun sites for now....

Linda Pohl, IBCLC
Phoenix AZ