Drinking, Breastfeeding Mothers: Where's the Line?

Babies Can Absorb Mom's Alcohol, but Abstaining Not Necessary

By RADHA CHITALE
ABC News Medical Unit

Stacey Anvarinia, 26, pled guilty to charges of child neglect filed earlier this year for breastfeeding her child while she was drunk.

Anvarinia pled guilty to charges of child negligence after breastfeeding her 6-month-old while intoxicated. Mothers can drink while they are breastfeeding, but drinking to excess can harm mother and child.

(Grand Forks County Correctional Center)

Police had been called to her home in Grand Forks, N.D., on an unrelated domestic disturbance call, and while they were there, an intoxicated Anvarinia began to breastfeed her 6-month-old child. The officers learned from a local hospital that breastfeeding while under the influence of alcohol was not good for the child, and they charged her with neglect.

While Anvarinia's was an extreme case, the truth is that most mothers are not teetotalers, nor are they expected to be. But there are no consistent guidelines regarding alcohol consumption following pregnancy during the time when mothers may be breastfeeding. Read more...