Alcohol affects everyone across the lifespan
Alcohol: Preconception, pregnancy, and breast/chestfeeding
I am thinking of becoming pregnant, should I avoid alcohol?1
If you are thinking about becoming pregnant or planning a pregnancy, you should be aware of the effects alcohol can have on your body. Being aware about the risks of alcohol can help you to make informed decisions when making choices about your health and your fertility.
- Drinking can impact ovulation, alter your hormones and lead to irregularities in your menstrual cycle.
- Alcohol can also impact sperm function and sperm count.
- Heavy drinking may also lead to sexual dysfunction which can lead to difficulties conceiving.
If I am pregnant and drink alcohol, can it hurt my baby?1,2
Yes. There is no safe amount of alcohol to consume while pregnant. Using alcohol while pregnant can lead to complications, birth defects, and abnormalities such as:
- miscarriage
- stillbirth
- low birthweight
- premature birth
Longer-term effects include learning difficulties, and health and social effects with lifelong impacts such as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) (Health Canada).
Can I use alcohol if I breast/chestfeed?
You should avoid drinking alcohol while breast/chestfeeding your baby. Using alcohol while breast/chestfeeding can also have negative impacts on your child because alcohol passes through breast/human milk. Alcohol can affect infant sleep patterns, reduce growth rates, cause difficulties with breast/chestfeeding and lead to an early end to breast/chestfeeding or a decrease in milk production.3,4
When you drink alcohol, it passes quickly from your blood to your milk supply. This means that the amount of alcohol in your milk is the same as the amount in your blood. As your blood alcohol level begins to decrease, so will the alcohol level of your breast/human milk.
If you are following the appropriate harm reduction measures listed below, occasional alcohol consumption while breast/chestfeeding has not been shown to be harmful to babies.4,5
Some tips to help reduce yours and your baby’s risks include4,5:
- Breast/chestfeed your baby right before you plan to begin drinking alcohol. It can take 1-2 hours for your body to process each standard alcoholic drink. If you have 2 alcoholic drinks you should wait at least 4 hours before breast/chestfeeding your baby.
- Try to pre-pump and store your milk or plan to use formula if you are planning on drinking.
- Try to eat food while drinking, it may help lower how much alcohol is absorbed into your bloodstream and into your milk supply.
- Do not “pump and dump”, this will not decrease the amount of alcohol in your bloodstream or in your milk supply. Time is all it takes for the alcohol content in your milk supply to decrease.
- If you plan to drink more than 1-2 alcoholic drinks, have a sober responsible caregiver available to care for your child.
- Centre for Excellence on Women’s Health (CEWH). (2023). Thinking about pregnancy? A booklet to reflect on alcohol use before you are pregnant. https://cewh.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Preconception-Booklet-Thinking-About-Pregnancy-Nov.-25.pdf
- Health Canada. (2021, November 2). Health risks of alcohol. https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/substance-use/alcohol/health-risks.html
- Paradis, C., Butt, P., Shield, K., Poole, N., Wells, S., Naimi, T., Sherk, A., & the Low-Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines Scientific Expert Panels. (2023). Canada’s Guidance on Alcohol and Health: Final Report. Ottawa, Ont.: Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction. https://ccsa.ca/sites/default/files/2023-01/CCSA_Canadas_Guidance_on_Alcohol_and_Health_Final_Report_en.pdf
- La Leche League Canada. (2022). Alcohol and breastfeeding. https://www.lllc.ca/alcohol-and-breastfeeding
- Nathoo, T., Stinson, J., Poole, N., & Wolfson, L. (2021). Taking Care: A Short Guide to Breastfeeding and Substance Use. Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health. https://cewh.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Taking-Care_Dec-6-2021-FINAL-WEB.pdf
This item was last modified on September 19, 2024