by Barbara Behrmann
March 17, 2007

Did you know there’s a new product on the market that enables you to test your breast milk for alcohol? And did you know that it’s completely unnecessary?

Designed by two moms, Milkscreen works as follows: Saturate a test pad with breast milk and wait two minutes. If the pad changes color, voila, alcohol is present in your milk.

This information is intended to help you decide whether or not it’s “safe” to breastfeed after having that cold beer on a hot summer night.

So what’s the problem?
When it comes to alcohol, there’s a huge difference between getting roaring drunk and having an occasional glass of wine or bottle of beer. Unfortunately, Milkscreen doesn’t differentiate—either there’s alcohol in your milk or there isn’t. The results are the same, whether you consume a single glass of champagne, an entire six-pack of beer, or a single dose of Nyquil (a popular over-the-counter sleep aid).

Most experts agree that drinking alcohol in moderation is compatible with breastfeeding. “Prohibiting alcohol is another way we make life unnecessarily restrictive for breastfeeding mothers,” asserts Dr. Jack Newman, author of numerous books and articles on breastfeeding and a member of the La Leche League International Health Advisory Council.

Women take lots of over-the-counter and prescription medications and continue to safely breastfeed their children. Even smokers are encouraged to breastfeed, because breast milk with nicotine is still preferable to formula.

Why the obsession over breast milk safety?
Lactation consultant Linda Smith points out, “Nobody is marketing a test for the safety of formula!” Formula remains a far riskier choice than breast milk.

In her fascinating and provocative book Having Faith: An Ecologist’s Journey to Motherhood, biologist Sandra Steingraber discusses the degree to which traces of pesticides and toxic chemicals are found in the breast milk of women all over the planet. Yet Steingraber remains a staunch proponent of breastfeeding and indeed breastfed each of her own children for several years.

Why? Because breast milk is still safer than formula—even breast milk with small amounts of alcohol in it.

“We spend an awful lot of time balancing small theoretical risks of breastmilk against known hazards of formula,” asserts lactation consultant Diane Wiessinger.

I’m not suggesting that mothers should be cavalier about alcohol intake. Excessive drinking can affect a baby’s ability to breastfeed and inhibit milk production. But good judgment and common sense are at least as effective as a simplistic test.

• Are you drinking on a full or empty stomach? Food decreases the absorption of alcohol.

• How much did you drink? The more alcohol you consume, the more likely you and your baby will feel the effects. And the longer it will take for the effects to wear off.

• Are you small or large? Small people may feel the effects of alcohol longer than larger people.

• How old is your baby? Is your baby healthy? Was your baby born premature? A baby that is newly born, ill, or premature will metabolize alcohol more slowly than an older, healthy baby born full-term.

Breast milk is rarely a dangerous a substance from which babies need protection. The bottom line—if you drink a lot, don’t breastfeed. More importantly, seek help. Heavy drinking will affect your mothering ability in more areas than breastfeeding.

Editor’s Note—February 20, 2009

Milkscreen was recently released in the United Kingdom (UK) where it has become the target of “safety” concerns—Is the test accurate? Does it encourage binge drinking? A spokesperson for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, questioned the validity of the research on which Milkscreen is based, noting that the current evidence is not robust enough to exclude any risk from low-to-moderate levels of alcohol consumption. Kimberly Schram of UpSpring Baby, maker of Milkscreen responded to the concerns in a Guardian interview. “We are in the process of finalizing approval with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), so we are not able to share accuracy rates at this time. However, from the clinical studies that have been performed to date, we are confident in the accuracy of our product and the peace of mind that it provides to breastfeeding women. We are not marketing this product at problem drinkers: we aim to appeal to responsible mothers.”