What Is Breast Milk Alcohol Test Strips?

It’s been nine months since your last alcoholic beverage. You may have found it easy to refrain from drinking while you are expecting, or you may have been counting down the minutes until you could pop the champagne cork or unwind with a glass of wine after a long day of caring for the baby. If this describes you, we have some wonderful news for you.

Now that your baby has arrived, you can drink alcoholic drinks in moderation. The majority of medical specialists concur that consuming alcohol in moderation while nursing won’t harm your infant.

The amounts of alcohol that is safe for a nursing woman to consume, however, is a subject of debate. You should also take additional precautions in light of this. To guarantee that you are prepared for nursing your child. Always check for traces of alcohol with the breast milk alcohol strip.

What Is Breast Milk Alcohol Test Strips?

Breast Milk Alcohol test strips, as the name implies, are used to detect traces of alcohol in breast milk supply. These strips are especially handy for moms who breastfeed their children since they allow them to not only enjoy their favorite drinks but also feed their babies with the golden liquid without hesitation.

By eliminating the uncertainty around the presence of alcohol in breast milk. These strips seek to assuage the anxieties and guilt experienced by nursing mothers. The at-home test detects alcohol by changing the color of a strip after being saturated with breast milk.

The Importance of Testing

Only 2% of the alcohol you consume when you drink enters your bloodstream. It then enters your breast milk production in the same amount from there. Once the alcohol has been fully digested and eliminated from your body. It remains in both your blood and breast milk.

According to the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics), nursing moms or breastfeeding moms are permitted to consume a 4-ounce glass of wine, a single 12-ounce beer, or an ounce of hard liquor on occasion. But they must wait at least 2 hours before breastfeeding after each drink. This is due to the fact that it usually takes an alcoholic beverage in a conventional quantity of 2 to 3 hours to leave your breast milk and bloodstream.

That’s an average. Now consider this, do you fall into the category of “Average”? Hell no, When it comes to someone as unique as you, the word “average” has no real meaning!

Alcohol is not metabolized by women at the same pace. Alcohol metabolism is influenced by a variety of variables, including body weight, the type, and quantity of alcohol consumed, as well as when and how much the previous meal was. So, it is wise to check your breast milk for Alcohol traces before you feed your baby.

The Best Breast Milk Alcohol Test Strips – Our Top Picks

We’ve listed the top choices below if you want to test these strips:

• Miloo

Miloo breastmilk alcohol test strips are developed with the conscientious and responsible mother in mind. Giving nursing mothers the freedom and flexibility to sometimes have an alcoholic beverage without worrying about their child’s health or wellness.

Miloo presents a special and affordable solution that will enable a nursing mother to swiftly test a droplet of their incredibly precious mother’s milk and determine whether breastfeeding would be safe for their kid at that particular time.

Results will be available in less than 2 minutes, and if alcohol is found. The color-guided palette will tell you how long it will take until you can test again and, hopefully, get a negative (alcohol-free) result. The previously stated color guide and simple directions for how and when to test are included in every packet of test strips.

• UpSpring MilkScreen

Another simple, non-invasive test strip that may detect alcohol in breast milk in about two minutes is Upspring Milkscreen. Simply moisten the test pad with a few drops of breast milk, and after two minutes, look for any color change.

The color shift must happen at or above 13.1 mg/dL for MilkScreen. And if the color does not change. There is no alcohol in the breast milk and you may feed your kid without risk.

Effects Of Alcohol On Breastfeeding Kids

• The short- and long-term consequences of alcohol use while nursing have not been well studied. Various studies have produced contradictory results, stating things like”drinking during breastfeeding is linked to worse scores on reasoning tests,” Or “low-level drinking during nursing is not connected with shorter breastfeeding duration or bad outcomes in newborns.”
• Despite the limited studies, the following are some things we do know regarding alcohol and breastfeeding:
• There is very little alcohol that can get into your breast milk.
• Alcohol is metabolized by newborns approximately half as quickly as by adults. (The alcohol persists longer in babies’ systems.)
• Studies have indicated that drinking alcohol does affect newborns’ sleep patterns, such as shortening and increasing the frequency of sleep cycles.
• There is little proof to support claims that nursing babies who sometimes drink will suffer long-term consequences. (However, it is countered that there is no data to rule out danger associated with low-to-moderate amounts of drinking, either.)

What Is The Recommended Alcohol Intake For Nursing Mothers?

The amount of alcohol a mother may consume while breastfeeding varies depending on whom you ask. If you’re sober enough to drive, in KellyMom’s opinion, you’re also sober enough to breastfeed.

The American Academy of Pediatrics advises against consuming alcohol while nursing. But if you must, it is preferable to wait until just after you have fed your baby or pumped the milk. To allow the body as much time as possible to eliminate alcohol, mothers should wait four hours after their last drink before pumping or breastfeeding.

The March of Dimes urges breastfeeding mothers to abstain from alcohol use while they are nursing. Their breast milk safety advisory advises “if you do consume alcohol, don’t have more than two drinks per week.” Before breastfeeding, wait at least two hours after each drink.

The age of the kid, the mother’s weight, the amount of alcohol ingested, and what the mother has eaten. And other variables may all affect how much alcohol a person may safely consume while breastfeeding.

Summary

Overall, breast milk alcohol test strips are an excellent solution for mothers who are unable to abstain from alcoholic beverages to assure the safe feeding of their children.

You can use the strips before feeding your children, and if any traces of alcohol are found. You can wait a little longer to give your body time to digest and eliminate the amount of alcohol you consumed.