New research makes surprising claim about alcohol while breastfeeding

It's commonly held that women should avoid drinking while they're breastfeeding, but new research may have turned that advice on its head.

A study from Australia has found that women who drank small amounts of alcohol while breastfeeding didn't do their babies any harm. The babies whose mothers had drank in moderation while breastfeeding were actually stronger on personal-social development. Researchers from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, the University of New South Wales and the Deakin University studied breastfeeding patterns and the effect on babies up to 12 months. The data showed that mums who drank alcohol and breastfed were more likely to have a third level education, be more affluent and be older. Most of those who said they drank had no more than two drinks in a sitting and used strategies like waiting until just after a feed to drink and expressing milk after drinking to avoid passing alcohol to their babies. The only significant link between drinking and breastfeeding the researchers could find was that "infants whose mothers drank at 8 weeks postpartum had more favourable results for personal-social development at 12 months compared with those whose mothers abstained." It's worth noting, however, that the correlation doesn't mean the babies are directly affected by the alcohol. It could be that women who drink socialise more and that their children 'pick up' the trait from their mums.

"While this study certainly does not condone excessive alcohol consumption in new mums, it does suggest that those that have the occasional drink while using strategies to prevent alcohol reaching the infant, can do so without fear of causing harm," lead researcher Delyse Hutchinson from Deakin University told News AU.