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Date: | Fri, 18 Nov 2005 13:00:07 +0000 |
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> I am also concerned about this "err on the side of safety" notion.
>Everyone has their own interpretation of that, which leads to
>non-evidence based
>practice. A classic example of that is the Physician's Desk Reference which
>says that no drug is safe to take while breastfeeding.
> I don't know of any study showing that a mother breastfeeding and
>drinking alcohol has harmed any infant (and I am not talking about
>the drunken
>mother that rolled over on her baby, which is a different and
>serious concern). I
>am talking about the baby ingesting some molecules of alcohol because the
>mother has had some alcoholic drink. Even the Little study could not be
>replicated.
And more than that, Nikki, we have evidence from studies that shows
no difference between the babies of bf mothers who drank 'moderately'
and those who didn't drink at all. 'No difference' does not equate
to 'proves this is harmless' of course, but 'erring on the side of
safety' has the very real risk that a mother will cease bf, or
suspend bf and give formula, which we *know* has risks.
I regularly hear from mothers who have been told they have to pump
and dump for 24 or even 48 hours after having alcohol - and pumping
and dumping does not do anything anyway (apart from relieve the
discomfort of the woman who's been told she can't bf and drink
alcohol).
It fuels the notion that breastfeeding is a fragile process, liable
to go wrong or become literally poisonous.
When I am asked about alcohol, I make no 'recommendations' (I'm am
not allowed to anyway, as a volunteer), and I simply share the
information I have with the mother. If she is concerned that her
baby gets absolutely no alcohol whatsoever, and sometimes she is,
then I tell her to calculate 60-90 mins per unit for processing, and
check she knows what a unit is.
Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc, tutor, UK
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