A 26-year old mom, Stacey Anvarinia from North Dakota was recently charged with ‘drunken breastfeeding’ her 6 week old baby.  She has pleaded guilty to child neglect and could spend up to five years in prison for her crime.

If you are going to drink alcohol while nursing, “Pump and Dump”.  Some people truly amaze me…  As a mother it is your choice whether you will breast feed your child or not and most doctors and nurses will argue that breast feeding is 100% healthier for the babies than formula.  If you are a person who loves to go out and party, then why don’t you formula feed your baby, just to be on the safe side.  Especially Stacey Anvarinia (who I do not personally know and yes, we do know that the media tends to exaggerate and lie about things), you are a new mother, you have new responsibilities and the first one is to take care of your new baby.  Anything you eat or drink will affect your baby when you are breast feeding.  If you happen to eat spicy foods, and you are breastfeeding that can cause your baby to have gas or indigestion, you have to think about these things before you do them.

Honestly, Stacey, I understand that you have been pregnant for the last nine (or ten, however you look at it) months and now you want to have a drink to celebrate or have fun, that is perfectly fine, but DO NOT breastfeed your infant within 48 hours of doing so. 

This is a hot topic, because many people feel that Stacey has done no wrong, that the small amount of alcohol that will pass through breast milk is “barely anything” and “our mother’s used to drink and we are all okay”.  It is obviously personal opinion and choice, but the first few months of a baby’s life and eating habits (due to what the mother eats) is a huge part of their growth.  Taste buds develop, so the mother eating all different kinds of foods while breast feeding can be a plus to the child’s food palate as they get older.  I must disagree though with all the people out there who do not think it will hurt a baby having alcohol in your system while breastfeeding.  I was even reading comments from people about this topic that are mad that the US micromanages families and other countries do not.  I do not care if your mother drank or smoked while she was pregnant with you.  There have been tests and studies the more the world advances proving that those things are harmful to infants in the womb and out.  People on other sites were even joking about giving their infant shots of vodka.  This is no joke to me, things like that are not funny at all. Do you want a healthy baby or not?

New mothers, please learn from Stacey Anvarinia’s mistake, “Pump and Dump”, you do not want to end up like Stacey and possibly serve up to five years in prison, missing out on even more of your child’s life. Be responsible – your baby depends on it.