Alcohol and Breastfeeding

The Link between Breastfeeding and alcohol Revealed

The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism has promulgated that alcohol does not help breastfeeding at all in its April edition in the year 2005. This promulgation is based on the latest reports from Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia. Julie Mennella, a research worker there, conducted a clinical trail to find out the link between alcohol and breastfeeding. Based on her research on alcohol and breastfeeding, she states that alcohol intake does not encourage breast feeding. Taking alcohol, in reality, impedes breast milk production.

The AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) on its website also discourages the intake of alcohol before breastfeeding. It further states that this alcohol has the possibility of entering the baby’s body when consumed minutes before nursing.

Face-Off against Traditional Myth

There is a conventional myth that alcohol promotes breast milk production. The recent study reports from Monell disagrees this fact. Based on a clinical trial where 17 mothers were offered orange juice with alcohol, it was found that the alcohol intake did not aid in the production of milk in any way.

The test showed that alcohol elevated the prolactin and cortisol contents in the women while bringing down the levels of oxytocin, which is the hormone that pumps milk into the breast. This increase in prolactin levels delayed the breast milk production and reduced level of oxytocin made it tough for the breast milk to be pumped into the breasts for the baby. The link between cortisol and breast milk production could not be pursued further since this lacked evidence in the tests that were conducted then.

The feeling of drowsiness was relatively higher among the women who were put to test at the Monell Chemical Senses center. An increased sense of distress was also visible among the women who were tested then. The blood alcohol level was at its peak in those women after around 45-51 minutes since the intake.

On a further analysis on the onset of drowsiness and distressed feelings, it was found that the sleep deprivation among new moms might have also given rise to this sense of drowsiness and distress.

Report Finding versus Traditional Myth

The traditional myth that alcohol and breast feeding are related to each other is emphatically true. But, in reality, based on an in-depth analysis, it has been found that the consumption of alcohol among breast feeding mothers facilitates an increase in the production of prolactin hormone within the body. This in turn makes the moms get a feeling of fullness in their breasts. But, this sense of fullness does not implicate an increase in breast milk production in any way in reality.

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