Recently, a mother of Bao left a message saying that she was unhappy with her mother-in-law because she did not want to drink rice wine to promote milk during the confinement period. She wondered if she should insist?
It turned out that before I was discharged from the hospital, the doctor specially explained that I should abstain from alcoholic beverages after giving birth. But the mother-in-law’s family has a custom, that is, she must drink rice wine during confinement, saying that it can not only stimulate milk, but also help to remove lochia.
I believe that many mothers have such doubts. Some people say that rice wine can produce milk, activate qi and blood, and is conducive to the recovery of the mother’s body. Some people say that rice wine does not promote milk, and alcohol will affect the baby’s intellectual development. .
Which statement is true?
Today, let’s talk about whether we should drink rice wine during the confinement period.
Topic 1: Can rice wine really stimulate milk?
Yellow rice wine or rice wine is a grain wine brewed with rice. The alcohol content is generally around 15 degrees. Guangdong’s “Hakka Niangjiu” and Jiangsu and Zhejiang’s “yuezi water” are widely spread It is one of the methods of breastfeeding in southern my country.
However, can drinking rice wine really make milk?
The answer is, No!
Scientific research has found that although new mothers who drink rice wine after giving birth have more plump breasts and appear to have “more milk”, they do not produce milk.
First, we know that two hormones are involved in milk production and feeding in the early postpartum period:
Prolactin is responsible for increasing milk production;
Oxytocin acts on the smooth muscles of the breast ducts, stimulating the contraction of these muscles to produce milk.
Alcohol can promote the secretion of prolactin to a certain extent and make breasts fuller, which is also the source of the belief that rice wine can promote milk.
Alcohol, in turn, inhibits the secretion of oxytocin, making it difficult for milk to flow.
Simply put, milk is available, but not coming out, making it harder for the baby to eat.
Secondly, when the mother and baby establish a good breastfeeding cycle, the influence of prolactin will become smaller, and the amount of milk secretion mainly depends on how much the baby eats.
The breast is not a passive milk reservoir at this time, but an active milk generator controlled by the baby.
New mothers drinking rice wine will change the taste of milk, which may make the baby not like it. The less you drink, the less milk you have.
It can be seen that drinking rice wine only makes new mothers feel or seem to have more milk, but it is not conducive to breastfeeding.
Topic 2: How will drinking rice wine during confinement affect the baby?
We know that alcohol can be distributed throughout the body along with water, so after a mother drinks confinement rice wine, alcohol can enter breast milk without any obstacle.
Alcohol metabolism is affected by alcohol intake, mother’s weight and other factors.
Studies have shown that a mother weighing about 50kg drinks 150ml of rice wine with an alcohol content of 11%, and it takes 2 hours and 36 minutes for the blood alcohol level to drop to 0.
And so on, the more you drink, the longer it takes to metabolize. .
In other words, breastfeeding for a short period of time after a nursing mother drinks alcohol is equivalent to giving her baby alcohol.
Babies have a very low tolerance for alcohol and are extremely vulnerable to the effects and even harm of alcohol.
If breastfeeding mothers drink a lot of rice wine for a long time and then breastfeed, their babies may become “drunk”, resulting in hormone imbalances, alcohol poisoning, and even death.
The medical literature has reported tragic cases of alcoholic mothers who drank heavily after breastfeeding, resulting in the deaths of infants from alcohol poisoning.
Of course, drinking a small amount of rice wine while breastfeeding will not have such serious adverse consequences.
However, the study also found that even after a small amount of alcohol during breastfeeding, a baby drinking a small amount of alcohol through breastfeeding can significantly interfere with the child’s sleep and make the child more likely to wake up. even irritable.
Topic 3: Is it safe to boil rice wine?
Some people say that confinement rice wine is only cooked or boiled before it is consumed by mothers, so there is no need to worry about alcohol.
Experimental data showed that adding wine to food and boiling it,
Continue to boil for 35 minutes, there will be 35% alcohol residue;
Continue to boil for 1.6 hours, there will be 20% alcohol residue;
Continue to boil for 2 hours, there will be 10% alcohol residue;
Continue to boil for 2.6 hours, there will be 5% alcohol residue.
That is, unless it continues to boil for more than 3 hours, the effects of alcohol are all there!
At the same time, drinking directly during the confinement period may cause uterine contractions, which can lead to painful wounds.
To sum up, the so-called “feeding milk” of drinking rice wine in confinement is actually an illusion.
Even boiled rice wine may still have alcohol residues, and breastfeeding after drinking is equivalent to drinking alcohol for new mothers.
Consuming large amounts in babies can cause significant health hazards and even death, and even small amounts of alcohol can interfere with sleep.
Therefore, it is recommended to drink less confinement rice wine, even if you are thirsty.