ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Breastfeeding and Alcohol: Pump and Dump Breast Milk

Updated on June 22, 2011

Breastfeeding and alcohol don’t mix well. But just because you’re nursing doesn’t mean you have to stop drinking alcohol while breastfeeding. As long as you pump and dump breast milk, it’s okay to drink alcohol while breastfeeding. It’s one of the wonderful benefits of using a breast pump. But pump and dump nursing isn’t the only reason to use a breast pump. Breast pumps are freedom!

This breastfeeding video explains how to introduce your baby to a bottle in preparation for giving him expressed breastmilk. It also walks you through the process of expressing manually—using a manual breast pump and using an electric breast pump—to help you decide which method may be best for you.

Video Credit: gurgle, YouTube

Pump and Dump: Pump Out That Chardonnay Before You Nurse

One of the most common breastfeeding questions new mothers ask is, is it okay to drink alcohol while breastfeeding? Yes and no. No, you don’t want to pass on potentially harmful alcohol to your baby, but as long as you pump and dump, breastfeeding doesn’t have to mean the end of your wine sipping (or tequila slamming or whatever) days.

What is pump and dump breastfeeding? Just what it sounds like: pump out the alcohol laden breast milk and dump it down the drain.

Nursing Mothers Gain Freedom by Using a Breast Pump

Nursing mothers can feel chained their babies, but freedom to do things like leave the baby alone with a caregiver for extended periods, or to have a few glasses of wine can be yours. Being away from your baby for significant periods can decrease breast milk production, but a breast pump provides the solution. Freedom from the constant demands of baby breastfeeding is easy when you have a good breast pump. Any time you want to take a break from your baby, the breast pump is your best friend.

Use a Breast Pump To Be Away From Baby

Many women worry about how to produce breast milk when they return to work. Pumping breast milk is a great way to maintain the nursing schedule that your baby has set. The expressed milk can then be left with the baby and caregiver, decreasing dependence on formula. When my son was three months old I returned to work. Along with drinking a lot of water, faithfully using my hospital grade breast pump was one of the most effective ways to increase breast milk supply.

Using a Breast Pump Provides Freedom From Pain

Pumping breast milk instead of breastfeeding is also a great option when breasts are injured (cracked nipples are no fun to nurse with!) or so sore or engorged that breastfeeding becomes unbearably painful. There is simply no reason to suffer. Breasts will often heal quicker if you use a pump. The suction is strong, but can be gentler than baby’s aggressive latch.

I recommend investing in a hospital grade breast pump, but even if you opt for one of the cheap breast pumps, make sure you get one with a good carrying case so you can easily transport it from home to office.

Image Credit: russelljsmith, Flickr

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)