title: Alcohol consumption by breastfeeding mothers: Frequency, correlates and infant outcomes.
abstract: There is limited research regarding the effects of alcohol consumption by breastfeeding mothers on infant development. This study examined the frequency, correlates and outcomes of alcohol use during lactation.
  
  
  
  Data were from an Australian cohort study. Maternal demographics and substance use were assessed during pregnancy and at 8 weeks and 12 months postpartum. Breastfeeding duration, infant feeding, sleeping and development (Ages and Stages Questionnaire) were also assessed postpartum. Logistic regression and general linear model analyses examined characteristics of women who drank during breastfeeding, and the association between alcohol use during breastfeeding and infant outcomes.
  
  
  
  Alcohol use was reported by 60.7% and 69.6% of breastfeeding women at 8 weeks and 12 months postpartum, respectively. Breastfeeding women who consumed alcohol were more likely to be born in Australia or another English-speaking country, be tertiary educated and have higher household incomes. Most drank at low levels (≤14 standard drinks per week, <3 per occasion) and employed strategies (e.g. timing of alcohol use) to minimise alcohol passed onto infants via breastmilk. Alcohol consumption was unrelated to breastfeeding duration, infant feeding and sleeping behaviour at 8 weeks, and most infant developmental outcomes at 8 weeks or 12 months, after adjusting for confounders. The only significant association showed 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.
  
  
  
  Low level drinking during breastfeeding is not linked with shorter breastfeeding duration or adverse outcomes in infants up to 12 months of age. [Wilson J, Tay RY, McCormack C, Allsop S, Najman J, Burns L, Olsson CA, Elliott E, Jacobs S, Mattick RP, Hutchinson D. Alcohol consumption by breastfeeding mothers: Frequency, correlates and infant outcomes. Drug Alcohol Rev 2017;00:000-000].
authors.affiliation: National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Judy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.affiliation: National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Rui Yang
authors.initials: RY
authors.lastname: Tay
authors.affiliation: National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.|Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Clare
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: McCormack
authors.affiliation: National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University, Perth, Australia.
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Allsop
authors.affiliation: Queensland Alcohol and Drug Research and Education Centre and Schools of Population Health and Social Science, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
authors.forename: Jake
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Najman
authors.affiliation: National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Lucy
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Burns
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Centre for Social and Early Emotional Development, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia.|Centre for Adolescent Health, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia.|Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Craig A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Olsson
authors.affiliation: Discipline of Paediatrics and Child Health, The University of Sydney, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Elliott
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Sue
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jacobs
authors.affiliation: National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Richard P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Mattick
authors.affiliation: National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.|School of Psychology, Centre for Social and Early Emotional Development, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia.|Centre for Adolescent Health, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia.|Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Delyse
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hutchinson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002657:Child Development / Q000187:drug effects*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D049590:Postpartum Period / Q000523:psychology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012890:Sleep / Q000187:drug effects*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol
keywords: alcohol drinking; breastfeeding; child development; infant; lactation