Should Drunken Breastfeeding Be Considered a Crime?

July 7, 2009

Is nursing your baby while under the influence breaking the law? Police in North Dakota thought so. When authorities responded to a domestic disturbance call they arrested an inebriated mother who was nursing her 6-week-old infant. Though a blood alcohol test was never run on 26-year-old Stacey Anvarinia, she plead guilty to child neglect and now faces up to five years in prison. While those involved insist that drunken breastfeeding is not the only reason the woman was taken into custody, it begs the question if it's even appropriate. What's your opinion of intoxicated nursing? Is any trace of alcohol too much or is there a limit?

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11 Comments

3 years 45 weeks

I don't think we can really judge whether drinking and breastfeeding is a crime. Whether a nursing mother is harming her child by drinking is not a line we can draw, because research seems even to question at what level children are being harmed. After having my first and second children, the first time I had 2 drinks in a row, I felt quite tipsy, yet the amount of alcohol that made it into my breastmilk was not significant. What I don't agree with was charging the woman with a crime when they hadn't even measured her blood alcohol level. Canadian physicians have published a table for rate of alcohol leaving breastmilk that readers might find useful (found in http://www.cfpc.ca/cfp/2002/jan/vol48-jan-clinical-1.asp). It also talks about the ineffectiveness of pumping and dumping, as alcohol passes in and out of milk as it does in the bloodstream.

staple salad 3 years 45 weeks

I think it should be illegal. You can't feed your baby a bottle of beer without getting in trouble if someone finds out, why should it be OK to feed them booze through another means? And while I doubt a drink of wine with dinner is really going to be harmful as far as breast-alcohol levels are related, visibly intoxicated is another story. Granted, I'm of the mind that it should be illegal to smoke in a home or car with children. I also think it should be illegal to smoke while walking down a crowded sidewalk, while standing outside of classrooms (on a college campus) or while standing under the windows of classrooms/dorms. I have athesma and being around smoke does NOT make it easier to breathe. I'm very grateful for my mom training herself to smoke outside when I was little.

bluepuppybites 3 years 45 weeks

That makes more sense Chouette, your first comment didn't make sense to me.

Chouette4u 3 years 45 weeks

Pumping and dumping is useless as far as keeping the alcohol from being ingested by your baby. If you're engorged, of course pumping and dumping will give mama relief. As far as balancing your supply, I assume if you're going to be drinking alcohol, you or a caregiver are going to be giving the baby pumped milk, so the time you pumped that milk makes up for when you would be nursing while the alcohol is in your milk. You could also just an hour or two to pump or nurse. Waiting one hour per drink is enough time to get the alcohol out of your system, and waiting that amount of time generally won't affect an established supply. Of course, if we're talking about getting totally smashed and staying out all night, none of this really applies.

JessieSP 3 years 45 weeks

How drunk was she? And no she should not have been breastfeeding while drunk. That mother should not have been holding the baby while intoxicated.

bluepuppybites 3 years 45 weeks

Well you shouldn't just leave the milk in your breast, or else you risk lowering your supply, and you shouldn't serve tainted milk to your baby, so how is it useless?

Chouette4u 3 years 45 weeks

"Pumping and dumping" is useless. Alcohol doesn't collect in breastmilk. If you're feeling the buzz, the booze is in your milk, and if the buzz is gone, the alcohol is gone as well. http://kellymom.com/health/lifestyle/alcohol.html And I voted that it should be a crime. I also think that smoking in cars or houses with children should be illegal. I don't think that the government should tell adults what to do with their bodies, but in these situations, the children don't get a choice and there should be laws protecting them.

bluepuppybites 3 years 45 weeks

When I nursed I would have a drink around a feeding that way the alcohol wouldnt be in my milk yet, but if I ever had more than 2 drinks I would pump and dump if I had to nurse and I still felt a buzz.

Roarman 3 years 45 weeks

Sure, if we also make smoking in an automobile or home with children illegal, which definitely has far more lasting effects. I think this is a line that should not be crossed.

3 years 45 weeks

This is a very controversial issue in North America. In other countries, not so much. I think it should come down to common sense. Of course if the mother is very drunk then maybe something should be done, but at what point do youdraw the line? Many people can argue that it becomes an invasion of privacy if we start making laws against drinking while breastfeeding and such. You could argue that it's child endangerment if someone smokes while bfing or pregnant, but there's no law against it. In Europe it's quite common to have a glass of wine with supper and isn't discouraged while nursing and many people still believe that a Guinness after birth and while nursing is better for the milk.

Chrstne 3 years 45 weeks

There are conflicting arguments. But I have read in more than one place that if you drink everyday, that is bad, but not necessarily having some drinks. It does move into the breast milk, but in small quantities. So what is in your breast milk is not equal to how much you actually drank. I think moderation is key. If it was me, I would not have more than one or two drinks. I may not even drink at all. A little bit of alcohol never killed a baby or cause issues -- even drinking during pregnancy a little bit. It's when people go overboard that you see problems occurring.

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