Alcohol, pregnancy and breastfeeding

When you are pregnant no amount of alcohol is safe for your unborn baby.

Australia has guidelines to help reduce the health problems caused by drinking alcohol. There is advice for people who are pregnant, planning a pregnancy, and breastfeeding.

In Australia, drinking alcohol is very common. It is often linked to social and cultural events. Knowing about the guidelines can help you to decide how much alcohol you want to drink.

The guidelines say that pregnant women should try not to drink alcohol at all. This is to stop your unborn baby being harmed.

When you drink alcohol, so does your unborn baby. Alcohol passes from your blood through the placenta and to your unborn baby. The placenta can't stop the alcohol from reaching your baby.

When you're pregnant, there is:

• no safe time to drink
• no safe amount to drink
• no safe type of alcohol to drink

Alcohol can harm your baby at any point during your pregnancy. The more that you drink the more unsafe it is for your baby.

Drinking alcohol while pregnant can increase your chance of:

• miscarriage
• stillbirth
• premature birth
• having a child with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD)

FASD is a group of conditions that are caused by drinking alcohol during pregnancy.

The effects of FASD are life-long. People with FASD often need support with:

• motor skills
• physical health
• learning and attention
• memory
• communication
• emotional regulations
• social skills

You might have drunk alcohol before you even knew you were pregnant. The risk from low level drinking before you knew you were pregnant is likely to be low.

If you are concerned, speak to your doctor or midwife. You can also NOFASD Australia on 1800 860 613 for confidential information or support.

Once you know you are pregnant, it's safest to stop drinking.

If you're planning to become pregnant, not drinking is the safest choice for both parents. There is still a lot we don't know about how alcohol affects sperm. Ideally, you will stop drinking 3 months before you start trying for a baby.

If you're breastfeeding your baby, not drinking is the safest choice.

When you drink, the alcohol moves from your blood into your breastmilk. It takes about 30 to 60 minutes for this to happen.

A few factors affect how much alcohol gets into your breastmilk, including:

• the alcohol you are drinking (strength and amount)
• what you've eaten
• how much you weigh
• how quickly you are drinking

It takes about 2 hours for the alcohol from one standard drink to be completely cleared from your body.

If you do choose to have an occasional drink, you can plan to protect your baby. You may wish to breastfeed your baby or express milk before having any alcohol to drink.

The Australian Breastfeeding Association has a Feed Safe app to help you understand when your breastmilk is free of alcohol.

It can be hard to avoid alcohol in social situations, particularly when others might not know you're pregnant. But you can ask for a non-alcoholic drink.

If you don't want people to know that you are pregnant, you might also find it helpful to say:

• "No thanks, I'm on a health kick and have given up alcohol."
• "No thanks, I have to drive."
• "No thanks, I have a big day tomorrow."

If you're happy to tell people that you are pregnant you can just say:

• "No thanks, not while I'm pregnant."

Where can I get support to give up alcohol?

If you're finding it hard to give up alcohol while you're pregnant or breastfeeding, talk to your doctor, midwife or obstetrician for advice.

Try talking to your partner too. See if they will also stop or cut down on alcohol to support you.

For more information on giving up alcohol visit Hello Sunday Morning.

Read more about alcohol during pregnancy and breastfeeding at Every Moment Matters.

Visit the Australian Breastfeeding association to download the Feed Safe app.

Contact NOFASD Australia on 1800 860 613 for confidential information or support on fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).

Other languages

You can find information about alcohol and pregnancy in languages other than English at FASD HUB.