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Breast feeding while on drugs and alcohol

Megan said: "O my goodness!! That makes me MAD! I bf my son and I would never do something like that! Of course he gets what I take into my body! About 6 weeks ago I had an orange soft drink. I did not realize till after that it had caffiene in it. My son usually goes to bed at 9 pm. He stayed up till 12:30 am! It did not have that much caffiene in it, AND I didnt even drink the whole thing! I really doubt she thinks that what she does will not effect her child. She just does not CARE! She is an adict and cares more for herself than her child. She may try to convice everyone else that she is doing whats best b/c she is really trying to convince herself."

Heather said: "It's called being an irresponsible parent in the worst kind of way. I couldn't imagine doing that to my own kids. (that I don't have)"

Darren said: "I figured that would be the reaction. I think she finally quit recently. But she did it for over 2 years."

Darren said: "What do you think of a mother [url=http://www.featherish.com/blog/2006/08/21/breastfeeding-while-on-drugs-and-alcohol/]breast feeding her baby while she's on alcohol or drugs[/url] Can it be right?"

Darren said: "I'm tempted to show her this thread. Let her see just how strongly people dis-agree with her."

Darren said: "I think that's proof enough for me, Megan. Like I said too, I actually think the baby in this scenario would look intoxicated when he was done. That's a sort of strange and sad dependence to create."

UniqueMystique said: "Insane! Totally and completely insane!"

UniqueMystique said: "lakelady.....it's not Darren's baby. The baby belongs to an acquaintance."

spectrachic311 said: "[QUOTE]lakelady.....it's not Darren's baby. The baby belongs to an acquaintance.[/QUOTE] Even if the baby isn't yours, if you know that the mother is abusing the child that way, you can still report this person to Human Services. They can still investigate and maybe do something. Well, at least they can in Wisconsin...I'm not sure if it's the same for other states. Lakelady...that's interesting that you mentioned the beer thing. My mom's doctor told her when she was having trouble nursing to drink a Guinness because it would increase the production of milk and help her relax. The dark beer is better I guess...it has more malt/barley in it and the lactose in it goes straight to the milk. I think drinking O'Doul's or something would probably have the same effect though. My mom said the amount of alcohol that the baby gets is very minimal...just enough to make them sleepy, she said. Most of the alcohol in the beer gets metabolized by the liver first, whereas other drugs stick around in the blood and get passed through to the milk."

spectrachic311 said: "That is so sick and wrong to do to an infant. Almost everything you put in your body comes out in breast milk because of the way your body makes it. I'd even be hesitant to take any OTC drugs like ibuprofen or caffeine or anything like that if I was nursing. I know a girl that's pregnant with her second baby and is smoking during the pregnancy AND drinking. When she was pregnant with her first, she didn't smoke and drink until after he was born and she was breastfeeding. Her baby did suffer some withdrawal symptoms when he was weaned because she smoked and drank while she was breastfeeding. People can be so stupid and selfish sometimes. Geez, if you are SO addicted to your drugs, don't breastfeed your baby. Formula is not quite as good as breastmilk, but it's a LOT better than breastmilk filled with toxins and drugs."

DBrew said: "Well, there is a big difference between one beer and abusing alchohol! I have a 7 year old and I smoked while I was pregnant with him. I really did not want to smoke but just could not quit. I tried for years to quit after that and finally did three years ago. I feel really guilty to this day about it and if your mom had the info back then about the harms of smoking while pregnant, she probably would have felt badly just like me. Your mother and I are both very lucky to have had healthy babies."

DBrew said: "Not only is that wrong, but I do not know how people can BE parents while high or drunk. It takes alot of energy to be a mom and whenever I have had one too many in the past, the next day with my kids is really hard and long. I can not imagine that as a lifestyle. Since when did parenting and pot go hand in hand? Another problem is that those two substances alomast always lead to and earlier than should be death leaving the children with no parents and a poor lifestyle learned by their parents. It turns into a vicious cycle."

klynnfosh said: "Well I have to think if someone was going to do this, they have two problems. They are an addict and they may be forcing their child to be an addict as well. Think of the poor babies born to addicted parents and the withdrawal they go through, and for someone to still be giving it to them while they are growing is bound to have side effects to their health. I realize some women would spend their last dime on a fix, and think their feeding their baby free food, but they should be spending the money on milk not drugs."

missred said: "My first thought is one of complete disgust! It upsets me to see parents who smoke cigarettes around their children, so to consider this is even worse! My husband's mother never breastfeed (thank goodness), and even now, to this day, she smokes pot and is an alcoholic. She has even smoked pot around my nephew. Never my child as we no longer have a relationship with her. But she is the type who would think this is perfectly acceptable. Breastfeeding is a healthy habit, for sure, but it is strange that someone would want that healthy aspect for their child yet refuse the facts and inject poison into thier rchild in this manner. Crazy. And I'm not sure when breastfeeding should stop...2 years might be a little long to breastfeed. I don't know about that. But the drugs and alcohol?! That really is insane! Sorry, I couldn't help but unload. That is a pretty upsetting topic."

mamabluejen said: "I know I'm way behind on this post, but I just couldn't pass it up. I'm a lactation specialist and this is infuriating! I breastfed my twins for almost a year and a half and am still breastfeeding my 11 month old. I work with hundreds of breastfeeding mothers every month. I truly believe in the power of breastfeeding and have seen first hand how it can often mean the difference in life and death for a baby. Many substances are filtered out of the milk by the breasts. Drugs, alcohol and caffiene are not. Some are actually intensified meaning the baby gets a higher dose than the mother. This has to do with the substances ability to bond with fat in the breastmilk. It saddens me to see a mother turning such a loving, unselfish act into a harmful one."

lakelady said: "OK, Darren, I assume you're talking about illegal drugs and excessive alcohol, in which case I agree with everyone that it's horrible. BUT... when I had my first child 30 (gulp) years ago, and I had initial trouble nursing, my doctor, and ALL the nurses TOLD me to have a beer. It helps the milk let down, and yes, some does end up in the milk, but no more than is contained in, say, baby dimetapp drops. Well, it worked like magic, and I always remembered it with my next 3 (my youngest just turned 14). My mom had three kids. She was an RN with a degree. She, and all her friends smoked, & had weekend cocktails during their pregnancies with no ill effects on any of their babies. furthermore, they let us kids bounce all over the car when we went places. They'd be publicly executed now!:rolleyes: As for drugs, there are certain otc drugs that are ok to take while nursing. Her doctor can tell her which. The baby's pediatrician will know best.BUT if she's nursing your child while on illegal drugs HAVE HER ARRESTED. The baby can't defend itself. I'd do it in a heartbeat if it were my own daughter doing it! Good Luck!"

lakelady said: "OK, I'm sorry I misunderstood about Darren's non-baby, but I'm new here. Still, it seems he could do something. Unfortunately, maybe not though, since he's not in the household. In this state anyway, child workers would have to catch her in the act, and the child would have to clearly exhibit ill-effects. not easy to prove if you're not in the household. Hope for the best though. babies are a lot tougher than people think. Keep a close eye out. darren, you seem like an excellent and caring friend!"