When Breast-Feeding, Avoid Smoking, Caffeine, Alcohol & Drugs
When Breast-Feeding, Avoid Smoking, Caffeine, Alcohol & Drugs
Cigarette Smoke: If you smoke, your baby smokes right along with you! What's more, the milk of smokers contains contaminants such as lead and cadmium. Smoking during pregnancy can damage your baby. He may suffer from nausea, vomiting, hyperactivity, speech problems or even have a higher risk of cancer later in life. You are well-advised to stop smoking some time before a planned pregnancy and to stay smoke-free after the baby is born.
Passive smoking affects the baby's health before and after birth also. You are exposed to passive smoking if you don't smoke but you work in an environment in which other people smoke, or your partner smokes around you. Tobacco smoke contains harmful heavy metals.
What happens if you can't stop smoking, despite your best intentions? Despite the risks involved, experts believe it is still better for a smoker to nurse her infant rather than bottle-feed her - as long as Mother's cigarette consumption is under 20 a day. Children whose parents smoke are particularly susceptible to respiratory infections. However, breastfed children of mothers who smoke are ill less often than are bottle-fed children of mothers who smoke.
A woman who cannot or will not stop should smoke low-nicotine cigarettes. She should limit her smoking to the times immediately after she has breastfed. The half-life of nicotine in the body is 95 minutes.
Caffeine: Caffeine is transferred from your milk to your baby in low concentrations. Your baby's immature liver breaks down caffeine more slowly than an adult liver does. It takes 3 1/2 days for half the caffeine you consumed to be eliminated from your baby's body. When a baby reacts to caffeine with unusual restlessness, irritability, colic and sleeplessness, it's best to give up this beloved habit - if only for your own self-interest! Cola drinks, black tea, chocolate and many over-the-counter medications contain caffeine. If you "have to have" any of these products, substitute caffeine-free versions for the real thing.
Alcohol: Alcohol is definitely harmful to a breastfed baby. Lower concentrations of alcohol pass to the breast milk, compared to what is in the mother's blood. But a baby's immature liver still can't break down alcohol as quickly as an adult's does. At one time it was believed small quantities of alcohol weren't harmful and might have a positive effect on the milk-ejection reflex.
New research indicates it is better to avoid alcohol completely while you are nursing, because even small amounts (for example, one 6-ounce serving of beer) drunk before breastfeeding can reduce the baby's desire to suck. He will take only about 75% of his usual amount. The baby will suck more but get less. Try to relax in other ways, such as working out. These activities can really help. If you want to drink a glass of champagne for a special occasion, drink it right after breastfeeding. The benefits of breastfeeding far exceed the risk of an occasional drink every two or three months.
Other Drug Use: Researchers do not know the complete effects of frequent or occasional drug use on mother's milk. However, we know enough about the of drug use to say without hesitation: Avoid any contact with drugs! Drugs impair everyone's ability to cope with day-to-day life. Who knows what kind of surprise the suckling baby gets when its mother gets high? One trip to your local hospital's newborn intensive care unit (NICU) should be all the incentive you need to stay off drugs. A look at drug-dependent babies, born from mothers who are also drug-dependent, is a heartbreaking, unforgettable sight.