Anne, I wrote a note in the margin of one of my books about alcohol metabolism, but I don't now remember the original source. Anyway, the note says that alcohol metabolizes at a rate of .015 blood-alcohol level per hour. So, if you start at a legally drunk (in Illinois) level of .1, after 7 hours alcohol would not show up in your blood or milk. (7 X .015 > .1) The milk to plasma ratio is about 1:1. Hope this helps. Kris Rogers, RN, BSN, IBCLC Crystal Lake, IL