Nursing while drinking

Discussion in 'Free Thoughts' started by Orleander, Apr 29, 2009.

  1. Orleander OH JOY!!!! Valued Senior Member

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    When I was nursing, I was told by my doctor to have a drink or two if I was ever stressed. It would make me feel better and it would calm the baby down. I get drunk on two beers. Why is it wrong to have a beer while nursing?

    North Dakota Mother Charged With Child Neglect, Allegedly Breast-Fed Baby While Drunk



    BISMARCK, N.D. — A North Dakota mother has pleaded not guilty to child neglect after prosecutors alleged she was drunk while breast-feeding her 6-week-old baby.

    Prosecutor Carmell Mattison says alcohol was not the only factor in the felony charge against 27-year-old Stacey Anvarinia, who appeared in court Monday. She is free on bond.

    Mattison says the mother "wasn't in a position to care for the child properly."

    Anvarinia was arrested Feb. 13 after police answered a domestic disturbance call at her Grand Forks home. The prosecutor said officers witnessed Anvarinia breast-feeding the baby and asked her to stop because she was intoxicated.

    Her attorney David Ogren says no blood test was taken and the charge could be difficult to prove.
     
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  3. takandjive Killer Queen Registered Senior Member

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    You know, depending on height and weight, I can't see a beer or two being a problem. My mother would give my brothers and me a SMALL hot toddy when we were sick and fussy and couldn't sleep. I've always heard it's fine to have a four ounce glass of wine once in awhile while nursing. Of course, I'm about 5' 7" and almost 130 lbs., so I'm no petite thing, and if I were 5' tall and 90 lbs., it might be more of a problem. I'm a lightweight drinker who's blackly drunk after four though.

    I think a lot of this boils down to common sense. You have eight pints of blood. If you're breastfeeding a six month old, even the best kidneys and liver take a few hours to get a lot of crap out. A drink once in awhile is probably not a real strain on anyone. Three or more a few times a week is probably a bad idea.
     
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  5. Orleander OH JOY!!!! Valued Senior Member

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    so did my Mom. And the military cough syrup we had...<shudder> Don't most meds have alcohol in them?
     
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  7. takandjive Killer Queen Registered Senior Member

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    Oh, you're a military brat, too!

    A lot of prescription cough syrups are booze heavy, which I guess is an improvement over the opium laced stuff they gave babies in the Victorian period. Maybe I'm just blowing this off, but it just isn't that big a deal to me.
     
  8. Orleander OH JOY!!!! Valued Senior Member

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    the stuff I was given had codeine in it. And if we were ever out, Mom reached for the peppermint schnapps.

    I wonder if a cop could arrest a pregnant woman for ordering a glass of wine with dinner.
     
  9. Bells Staff Member

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    I think the whole time I was breastfeeding with both of my children, I had only had a small sip of champagne and that was it. I was told it was safe to have a glass of wine every once in a while, but I never did so. I think the champagne was for my wedding..

    I never touched a drop while pregnant. And one sip when breastfeeding and then downing copious amounts of water.. I was probably being paranoid, but I just didn't want my son to get the alcohol in his system.

    It isn't illegal to drink while pregnant or breastfeeding. As the article says, she was found guilty for other things.

    If she was that intoxicated that she posed a risk to the child while feeding it (stone blind drunk and falling over type and could have dropped the child), then I can understand why they would have asked her to stop.
     
  10. Bells Staff Member

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    Holy jesus..

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

     
  11. cosmictraveler Be kind to yourself always. Valued Senior Member

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    NO! Where did you get that from? There are some cough syrups that contain alcohol but very little.
     
  12. CutsieMarie89 Zen Registered Senior Member

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    Yeah that's why alcoholics drink stuff like Benedryl and NyQuil when they can't buy booze. I wonder if it helps put you to sleep.
     
  13. CutsieMarie89 Zen Registered Senior Member

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    She wouldn't get arrested, but everyone in the restaurant would give her such nasty looks and stares she might reconsider. Even though FAS (fetal alcohol syndrome) is rare, why risk it?
     
  14. mikenostic Stop pretending you're smart! Registered Senior Member

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    NyQuil has enough alcohol in it to cause concern.
     
  15. Orleander OH JOY!!!! Valued Senior Member

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    sorry cos, I should have said most liquid meds.
     
  16. Orleander OH JOY!!!! Valued Senior Member

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    I don't know of any kids born with FAS because their mom had a random drink. FAS children are born to alcoholic Mom's who drank A LOT
     
  17. CutsieMarie89 Zen Registered Senior Member

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    Like I said it's rare but why risk it. It can still do damage to their brains even it isn't physically noticeable, so why risk it? You could let your kid eat stuff they find on the ground, they'll most likely be fine, but why risk it?
     
  18. Orleander OH JOY!!!! Valued Senior Member

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    one drink isn't going to hurt a fetus. Its like thinking "I could get in a auto accident and lose the baby so why risk it"

    If the baby had something wrong with it, it wasn't because of that 1 drink.
     
  19. takandjive Killer Queen Registered Senior Member

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    Most FAS damage is done by heavy drinking early in the fetus' development. If you were a light drinker (couple drinks EVERY WEEK) throughout the pregnancy, it's likely the child would have some mild brain damage. One binge drinking episode will probably harm your baby. One drink won't. It's like giving a baby a single size appropriate dose of aspirin and the baby getting Reye's Syndrome. It just doesn't happen.
     
  20. nirakar ( i ^ i ) Registered Senior Member

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    http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119851380/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0

    "ABSTRACT

    Summary: At fixed intervals after the ingestion of alcohol by 8 nursing mothers, sets of breast milk and blood samples were collected and their alcohol levels compared. One set of milk samples was solely hind-milk while the remainder were fore-milk samples. The results showed that alcohol appeared quickly in both fore- and hind-milk at a level equivalent to or higher than the corresponding blood samples. Elimination of alcohol from the milk was closely related to its elimination from blood and was unaffected by breast feeding. However, despite this, the large dilution of the alcohol contained in the milk by the baby's body water renders the baby's resultant blood alcohol level very low in all but the most extreme cases."
     
  21. CutsieMarie89 Zen Registered Senior Member

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    That's not what I was thinking, but fine blow it out of proportion if you must. One drink probably won't do anything, but it's easily avoidable I can go 9 months without a drink and I can go some more if I choose to breastfeed. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that alcohol is a drug and your baby is probably better off without it in their system. So if I'm pregnant I'm not going to go out of my way to induce possible harm to the fetus. No drinking, no smoking, no unnecessary X-rays, and I won't keep working with dangerous chemicals like I do now. They most likely won't cause a great amount of harm, but if it's an easy change I can make that does not interfere with my everyday life, it can't hurt. I don't know why you're so gungho about this anyway, you think doctors shouldn't tell women not to drink or smoke while their pregnant?
     
  22. takandjive Killer Queen Registered Senior Member

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    I think Orly's pointing out that's pretty unrealistic in some cultures. It's very easy to slip up and have a glass. Or if you're getting married and you have a sip of champagne. It's not good to ever give your kids red dye #40, but we do, in moderation. The point is, we spend so much time beating up moms who slip and have a beer while breastfeeding that we let the real problems slide under the radar because they remain hidden, rather than talking about it.
     
  23. chris4355 Registered Senior Member

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    well... how often does a mom lose her child for drinking while breasfeeding anyways? is this really that common?
     

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