Weaning and breastfeeding despite smoking?
The recommendations regarding breastfeeding and smoking are not uniform.Some recommend breastfeeding, others argue more for weaning. In the end, the individual situation should be considered. The more harmful substances are contained in breast milk, the greater the risk for the child to come to harm through breastfeeding.
Especially mothers who consume other than smoking, drugs, alcohol, sleeping pills or tranquilizers should refrain from breastfeeding and stop breastfeeding. On the other hand, mothers who do not take drugs, tablets and/or alcohol can breastfeed despite smoking if they observe certain things. These include regular smoking breaks immediately before breastfeeding and a strict ban on smoking during breastfeeding.
In this case it is not necessary to stop breastfeeding completely. Breastfeeding can have negative consequences for the baby, just like the tobacco contamination of breast milk. The newborn baby lacks the so-called nest protection, which is the child’s immune system at the beginning of life. It should therefore be carefully considered whether weaning is necessary and sensible. This is most likely to be decided individually.
When should you smoke, when should you breastfeed?
Mothers who smoke should definitely refrain from smoking during breastfeeding. Not only does smoking pollute the mother’s milk at this time, it also pollutes the child with the very dangerous passive smoke. Furthermore, it is recommended to reduce the total number of cigarettes to a minimum if possible.
If you smoke nevertheless, smoke breaks should be observed before breastfeeding. These smoking breaks must last at least one hour to improve the exposure of breast milk with regard to nicotine content. Especially at the beginning of the breastfeeding period, frequent breaks must therefore be taken to meet this requirement. A recommendation would therefore be to smoke immediately after breastfeeding. This is when the interval between smoking and the next breastfeeding session is greatest.
Can pumping before smoking help?
Many mothers use a breast pump during their breastfeeding period. Pumping the milk out not only creates independence, but also gives many mothers security through direct control of the amount they drink. Smokers can also pump out their milk and then offer it to their child.
Pumping the milk out is recommended before smoking, or at least one hour after smoking. This can reduce the nicotine load in breast milk. The longer the interval between smoking and pumping out, the better the quality of the milk.
