Drinking alcohol not bad for nursing mothers: Study

New research states that drinking alcohol is not bad at all for nursing mothers!

Women are always extra careful during their pregnancy's, and more so when they begin breastfeeding their babies, and are always advised to not consume any alcohol.

However, to all those women who crave for a glass of wine when they wish to unwind, here's some great news. 

A new study conducted by the National Drug & Alcohol Research Centre, UNSW and the Deakin University’s Centre for Social and Early Emotional Development looked at data from the Triple B Pregnancy Cohort – a study of alcohol use during pregnancy and development outcomes in infants at 12 months of age and found that drinking alcohol in moderation while nursing is not all that bad.

The study assessed maternal demographics, breastfeeding duration, infant feeding, sleeping, development and substance use during the course of the pregnancy. 

Most nursing women consumed low levels of alcohol, like a glass of wine, and generally drank it at the end of the feed, or waiting a few hours to feed their babies to make sure the levels of alcohol passing on via breast milk was minimum. 

The study found that alcohol consumption had no connection to breastfeeding duration, infant feeding and sleeping behaviour at eight weeks, and most infant developmental outcomes at eight weeks or 12 months.

The only important and direct connection was that babies of drinking mothers (who drank at eight weeks postpartum) were more developed in personal-social behaviour at 12 months, as compared to those babies whose mothers didn't drink. 

Researchers noted that this social development could possibly be because their mothers simply went out to get a drink, and the social development of a child is greatly affected by their environment.