Snuggly baby cradled in her arm with a glass of what appears to be rosé in her hand — Jessie James Decker seems to have it all in an Instagram she posted Thursday while nursing new son Forrest Bradley.
However, fans of the country star were divided in the comments section, with some cheering her on for enjoying herself while breastfeeding (“Love it!!!” said one) as others scolded the singer, asking questions like, “Why is it okay to drink while breastfeeding?”
Why is it okay? Because experts say it technically is. According to Chicago-based registered nurse and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant Elizabeth Sjoblom of Lactation Partners, minimal, infrequent alcohol consumption while nursing does not have a major effect on baby.
“Current research says that one to two drinks, occasionally, is not harmful for a nursing baby,” Sjoblom tells PEOPLE via email. “The general rule of thumb is if you feel fine, you are fine to feed your baby.”
But you really have to feel fine.
“If a mom chooses to have more than one to two drinks, or feels very buzzed or drunk, she can ‘pump and dump’ her breasts for comfort until she feels more neurologically okay to feed her baby,” Sjoblom explains, adding a mother should wait until she feels sober to resume feeding. “Alcohol metabolizes out of the milk supply just as it does out of your bloodstream.”
‘Pump and dump’ is a term used when women use a breast pump to express milk and then dump it out, sometimes after drinking or taking a medication that isn’t compatible with breastfeeding. (Fellow new mom Behati Prinsloo was mom-shamed for sharing a snap of herself doing just that at Coachella earlier this year.) However, it isn’t a quick fix for feeding your baby.
“Pumping and dumping the milk does not metabolize alcohol out of your system faster,” Sjoblom cautions.
Regardless of whether or not she’s drinking in the photo, we raise a glass to Decker for helping to normalize breastfeeding — particularly fitting during World Breastfeeding Week.
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