.JPG)
What to Avoid
What to avoid while breastfeeding?
Substances (smoking, alcohol, caffeine, drugs) can cause a baby to premature wean and can negatively affect the infant.
Alcohol
Alcohol passes into breastmilk. Depending on how much you drank and what size you are, you need to wait after drinking alcohol before breastfeeding. A mother who is breastfeeding and chooses to consume alcohol will need to carefully plan her breastfeeding schedule. You can pump and store your breastmilk before drinking alcohol and wait for the alcohol to leave your system entirely before breastfeeding. Please see the attached document regarding alcohol use and breastfeeding. It will give you an idea how much time you will need to wait after drinking alcohol before you can breastfeed, because this depends entirely on how much you weigh and how many drinks you've had. Please keep in mind that one drink of alcohol is either 12 oz of beer, 5 oz of wine or 1 1/2 oz of spirits, such as vodka or whisky.
A baby that has been exposed to alcohol in the breastmilk (even if it's not a lot of exposure) may show the following: impaired motor development, changes in sleep patterns, decrease in milk intake, and risk of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). Also, drinking large amounts of alcohol can affect a woman's milk supply.
Tobacco
Even if you can’t quit smoking, breastfeeding is still the best thing for your baby. Heavy smoking (more than 10 cigarettes per day) may lower your milk production and milk ejection as well as cause your infant to be irritable or have poor weight gain. The more time that passes between a cigarette and the next feed, the better. The harmful effects of smoking can be reduced if you smoke after breastfeeding your baby rather than before. Smoke as little as possible and away from your baby. Babies are harmed by second hand smoke. Avoid smoking while feeding the baby. Have a smoke-free home or designate a room in your house as a smoking room and do not take your baby in there.
Illicit Drugs (Street Drugs)
Cannabis (marijuana, hashish, hash, pot) stays in the body for long periods of time and can be passed on to the baby in breast milk. If a baby is exposed to cannabis in the breast milk their motor development may be delayed. It is best not to use cannabis while breastfeeding. Avoid being in a room with people who are smoking.
Club Drugs (ectasy, GHB) risks are not known yet for baby. However, taking ectasy can have similar risks as taking stimulants (irritability and poor sleeping patterns in the baby). GHB may have the same effect on baby as alcohol (see above). Do not use club drugs while breastfeeding.
Cocaine and crack can cause irritability, trembling, vomiting, diarrhea and seizures in the baby. Do not use cocaine or crack while breastfeeding.
If you are having trouble quitting street drugs, please seek the advice of an addictions counsellor, doctor or nurse.
Caffeine
Large amounts of caffeine may cause irritability and poor sleeping patterns in the baby. Be sure to check the amount of caffeine in foods, drinks and pain medications, and limit the amount each day. You may want to keep the recommendations for caffeine intake as in pregnancy, which is no more than 300mg/day. An average sized coffee (8oz/230ml) has about 40-180mg of caffeine in it, depending on the type of coffee it is. Tea (8oz/230ml) has 20-90mg of caffeine, regular cola (12oz/355ml can) has 36-90mg caffeine, and Energy Drink (17oz/500ml bottle) has 50-125mg, and a bar of chocolate (2oz/45g) has up to 50mg of caffeine.
Reference:Is it Safe for my Baby?