If you’re breastfeeding a new baby, of course, you’ll want to be aware of everything you put into your body. One question that often comes to mind is the safety of having a few drinks when you’re nursing. Is it safe to drink alcohol while breastfeeding or is alcohol best avoided?

An old tale that’s often told to new mothers is that they can calm their new baby and help them sleep by having an alcoholic drink or two. The theory is that when you drink alcohol while breastfeeding, you pass a portion of the alcohol to the baby which helps to calm him and allows him to sleep through the night. Surprisingly, there may some, partial truth to this statement. In a study that was published in the journal Pediatrics, it was shown that babies exposed to alcohol through their mother’s breast milk fell asleep sooner, but slept for shorter periods of time. Babies exposed to alcohol through breast milk also had a tendency to be more active when they were awake than infants who’s mother didn’t drink alcohol. Overall, the shorter sleep periods experienced by infants whose mothers drink alcohol while breastfeeding negates any advantages this practice might have.

This study does suggest that drinking alcohol while breastfeeding can have an effect on the baby, although it’s known that only a small amount of the alcohol drunk by the mother passes to the breastfeeding infant. How long does it take for the alcohol to reach a baby’s system when a mother drinks alcohol while breastfeeding? It’s generally thought that alcohol reaches the baby in about twenty minutes and achieves its peak concentration within forty-five minutes to an hour. Because only a small amount of alcohol drunk by the mother reaches the baby’s system, it should take a fair amount of alcohol to have a significant impact on a baby’s health.

What are the risks of alcohol exposure to a breastfeeding infant? Studies have shown that when babies were exposed to an alcohol content of about one drink per day during breastfeeding, it caused a slight delay in the development of motor skills, although a larger study failed to corroborate this effect. Women who drink while breastfeeding may also increase the infant’s risk of developing a short term low blood sugar level. Another consideration is the effect alcohol could have on the immature liver of the infant. This effect hasn’t been well characterized.

The bottom line? Most experts state that drinking the equivalent of a glass of wine per day or less is unlikely to cause long term harm to an infant. If you plan on drinking alcohol at a party and worry about the effects of drinking while breastfeeding, limit yourself to a single drink and don’t breastfeed your infant if you drink more than that. Why take any chances with your baby’s development?

The good news is you won’t be breastfeeding forever, but during the time that you are, keep the health and well being of your baby in mind.