When trying to get pregnant, it’s best to abstain from alcohol. Unplanned pregnancies are common and drinking alcohol, especially binge drinking, before you know you’re pregnant can harm the fetus.
Did you know? Heavy drinking can:
When pregnant, there is no known safe amount of alcohol.
Drinking while pregnant can cause birth defects and developmental problems, such as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).
Alcohol use can also cause pregnancy disorders and complications (e.g., high blood pressure, miscarriage, placental abnormalities, stillbirth).
When breastfeeding, no amount of alcohol use is safe for the infant. This is because alcohol enters breastmilk upon drinking.
Did you know? Alcohol use decreases milk production, and breastfed infants exposed to alcohol can experience disrupted sleeping and feeding patterns (e.g., early cessation of breastfeeding), and developmental delays.
Having one standard drink on occasion can be safe for a breastfeeding infant, but only if the drink is carefully timed: it takes at least 2 hours for the alcohol inside one standard drink to leave both the breastmilk and the drinker’s body.