Pregnant Or Nursing - Drugs And Alcohol?

[melissa569]

Ok...   I'm asking this both about pregnant moms and nursing moms, because I often hear drug-using or drinking mom's dismiss their behavior by saying the substance is "filtered out" by either the placenta, or the mammary glands

Comments

[mercurialness]

The simple answer is no, and your friend is a negligent parent. The placenta is designed to filter the mother's blood for the nutrients the fetus needs to ensure that the fetus gets what it needs at the expense of the mother but it is not some magical filter that keeps everything else. Anything in the mother's bloodstream will reach the baby. If you smoke cigarettes, nicotine reaches the fetus. There are myriad scientific studies that prove a direct correlation between smoking and low birth weight for that very reason. We wouldn't have category x drugs in pregnancy if the placenta worked like that.

The same goes for breastfeeding. It actually has a different taste depending on what the mother has eaten because it is directly affected by everything ingests. That's why they tell you to "pump and dump" if you've been drinking and why a nursing mama can't pick her Starbucks habit right back up--caffeine is transmitted to the baby via breastmilk.

Your friend is jeopardizing the health of her baby through ignorance.

[krysty]

Hi, I just wanted to let you know that pumping and dumping is actually outdated advice as the body will clear alcohol out of breast milk at the same rate that it is cleared from our bloodstream. :-) Caffeine depends on the mom and baby. It can definitely have an effect on the baby if an excessive amount in present, but generally speaking most babies (especially older babies) tolerate it in small to moderate amounts just fine.

[mercurialness]

I did drink small amounts of caffeine while nursing when he got older but nowhere near my normal amount which can be multiple venti mochas depending on the day. ;) My son had terrible reflux pretty much since birth and I remember that being the first thing that advised me to cut out of my diet.

[krysty]

Oh, reflux! I was lucky that my babe never had any issues beyond typical spitting up, but I've worked with mamas who are trying to navigate that tricky beast. So much respect for your journey and perspective. I just wanted to make sure that it was clear that what was necessary for you and your baby may not be necessary for other moms and babies. Gotta keep an eye out for those "booby traps" that can unnecessarily prevent a mom (who wants to) from breastfeeding. ;-)

[mercurialness]

Definitely! I was basically only mentioning it to illustrate how just about everything does get into breastmilk if the mother is ingesting it and doesn't get magically filtered out. For someone like me who isn't very moderate about their caffeine intake, it would not be a good idea regardless to pick back up as normal immediately after giving birth. I don't think everyone knows from the outset that caffeine can make a tiny baby's belly issues worse and may just give up prematurely thinking a sensitive formula would be better when a simple reduction in the amount not necessarily completely abstaining will do the trick. It's a trap I almost fell into myself but thankfully did not. :)

[futurenerdymom]

I agree that if you drink small to moderate amounts of alcohol and enough time is able to pass between the alcohol ingestion and the next feeding, there is no need to pump and dump - I mean it's just like driving, you can't tell someone "you can't drive because you are drunk on occasion" ... you just can't drive *while* you are drunk

[krysty]

Fair enough, that is a time when dumping pumped milk would be appropriate! The original idea behind pumping and dumping is that if you didn't pump your milk would still be contaminated with alcohol even if you had sobered up, and that is factually inaccurate. Like I said in another comment, it all depends on the situation. :-)

[cindyanne1]

Yep this post is the first I've heard of not pumping and dumping, but it makes complete sense to me. My youngest is 5 years old now so it's been some time since I've had to worry about such things. ^_^

[max_ambiguity]

Actually, they don't tell you to pump and dump anymore. Unless you are engorged while drunk and need to get the milk out immediately, it's safe to wait until you have sobered up and then nurse as usual. Caffeine in moderate amounts has also been okayed unless the baby shows a negative reaction to it.

Edited to add: Sorry to dog pile you, but the comment above wasn't there when I started writing this!

[mercurialness]

No worries! I actually just abstained from alcohol totally while nursing since I've never been much of a drinker anyway but a friend with a baby a couple of months younger than mine swore by it. Good info!

[sandi1743]

the issue with smoking and pregnancy the decrease of oxygen not the nicotine.

[melissa569]

Oh wow.... Yeah she was talking about how her baby was only 5 lbs when he was born. Also the baby was under weight all through the pregnancy. And she was having a lot of pre-term contractions. She told us at dinner they admitted her a few times her final month of pregnancy because of that. And because of her very high blood pressure. She did say that she smoked marijuana all through her pregnancy.

I know its cynical, but I was sitting there thinking, "Yeah... And WHY exactly does all this make you think everything is being filtered away from the baby???"

Frankly, I think she is seriously misinformed, walking around thinking she can do what she wants and its all filtered away from her baby. Its either that she doesn't care because she wants her fun and she will tell herself whatever she has to... Or she really is that naive (she is 24).