As a new mom, we know how important keeping your baby safe is. In everything you do, your baby’s wellbeing and safety becomes top priority—even more so than your own. Still, it’s also important for you to have your own time of relaxation, rejuvenation and fun. That’s where non-alcoholic wine comes in.

Non-alcoholic wine provides all the delicious taste and satisfying feeling of regular wine, but without the risk of alcohol. However, as a new mom who breastfeeds, everything you consume also goes into the breast milk for your baby. How can you be sure non-alcoholic wine is actually safe for your baby? Wouldn’t it run some sort of risks? Let’s dive into the nitty gritty details of non-alcoholic wine and its safety for new moms breastfeeding their little ones.

First and foremost, all of our wine options at Wines for Mothers contain 0.0% alcohol, meaning they are perfectly safe for all ages to enjoy. During the winemaking process, our non-alcoholic wines go through a very similar system as their alcoholic counterparts. However, in the very last stages, the alcohol is removed from the wine through one of two methods: distillation or filtration. Once the alcohol has completely been removed, the wine is ready for bottling and consumption. This means that although non-alcoholic wine is different from similar juices, it is equally safe to consume, but without all the included sugars.

Another thought to consider is the difference in consuming alcohol while pregnant versus consuming alcohol while breastfeeding. In fact, the two tend to be more mutually exclusive than similar. While the research on negative effects of alcohol usage during pregnancy is widely known, there tends to be less research on any effects of drinking alcohol while breastfeeding. When it comes to drinking alcohol and breastfeeding, La Leche League International states:

The effects of alcohol on the breastfeeding baby are directly related to the amount the mother ingests. When the breastfeeding mother drinks occasionally or limits her consumption to one drink or less per day, the amount of alcohol her baby receives has not been proven to be harmful.

Additionally, the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Drugs considers alcohol compatible with breastfeeding. If consumed in large amounts, there can be side effects on the infant, including drowsiness, deep sleep, weakness and abnormal weight gain, along with the possibility of decreased milk-ejection reflex in the mother.

La Leche League International goes on to cite Dr. Jack Newman, member of their Health Advisory Council, in his handout “More Breastfeeding Myths”:

Reasonable alcohol intake should not be discouraged at all. As is the case with most drugs, very little alcohol comes out in the milk. The mother can take some alcohol and continue breastfeeding as she normally does. Prohibiting alcohol is another way we make life unnecessarily restrictive for nursing mothers.

Of course, when deciding on what’s right for you and your baby, it’s always important to check with your primary doctor and seek his or her opinion. However, when consumed in small amounts, more research is showing few—if any—effects of alcohol on breastfeeding infants. So when it comes to non-alcoholic wine in particular, you can feel even more secure in the safety of your breastfeeding child.

If you want to try non-alcoholic wine but are still uncertain of its effects on breastfeeding, you can always consider giving some time between consumption and breastfeeding. As La Leche League says, “Alcohol passes freely into mother’s milk and has been found to peak about 30 to 60 minutes after consumption, 60 to 90 minutes when taken with food. Alcohol also freely passes out of a mother’s milk and her system.” Breastfeeding your child before drinking non-alcoholic wine, then waiting an hour to two hours after consumption, completely nullifies any potential associated risks, as the wine passes through your system.

If you’re currently breastfeeding your little one, check with your doctor to learn more about any potential risks with alcoholic or non-alcoholic wine. While alcoholic wine can be consumed in small doses, non-alcoholic wine poses little to no worries at all. If your concern still exists, be sure to allow time after consumption before breastfeeding again.

At Wines for Mothers, nothing is more important to us than the safety of the women and children who consume our products. All of our wines are 0.0% alcohol for a reason—to provide safe, delicious and sophisticated products to pregnant and nursing women like you.