Drinking any alcohol while you are pregnant could seriously harm your baby, but drinking just one glass of wine while breastfeeding probably is safe for your newborn, according to La Leche League International. To protect your baby while still enjoying a tasty glass of merlot, you need to understand the way alcohol affects your breast milk, your body and your baby. When you drink wine, some of the alcohol enters your breast milk; when your baby nurses, he will ingest some of the alcohol. Even though your milk contains a relatively small level of alcohol, your baby is also very small, so the alcohol could affect his body and behavior. Fortunately, the alcohol doesn't remain in your milk until the baby empties the breast; as your body processes the wine, it metabolizes and eliminates the alcoholic content from your bloodstream and your breast milk. When your body no longer contains alcohol, neither does your milk. On average, it takes a woman two to three hours to process one serving of wine fully.

To avoid passing any alcohol to your baby, breastfeed her immediately before drinking the wine, and encourage her to eat a full meal. After drinking the wine, don't breastfeed for two to three hours, or until you no longer feel any effects of the alcohol. Remember, if you still have alcohol in your system, then your milk still has alcohol in it. If the baby does consume some alcohol via your breast milk, it can make him feel sleepy and weak; he may sleep too deeply or for too long, or he may sleep restlessly and lightly, unable to attain the deep sleep his body needs. He may cry more than usual, startle more easily and feel unhappier. To avoid these effects, never breastfeed while drinking or in the hour afterward, since your milk's alcohol content peaks at 30 to 60 minutes after consuming the wine. Over time, consuming alcohol through your milk could hinder your baby's growth, weight gain and mental development. One occasional glass of wine, however, will not cause these serious problems, especially if you wait two to three hours before breastfeeding.

A long-existing but inaccurate myth claims that drinking wine can help you achieve milk let-down and can even increase milk production. Drinking beer actually does help stimulate let-down. Wine, however, doesn't have the same effect because it's the barley in beer that helps, not the booze. In fact, drinking wine actually decreases milk production by as much as 20 percent and for as long as four hours, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. After drinking a glass of wine, carefully watch your baby for signs of hunger throughout the next day; if necessary, feed her more often than usual or supplement with formula. Cooking With Wine and Breastfeeding Should Nursing Moms Eat Shellfish? How to Get a Breastfed Baby to Sleep Through the Night Is Nonalcoholic Beer Safe During Pregnancy? How to Sterilize Glass Baby Bottles Does Caffeine Decrease Breast Milk Supply? Foods to Avoid While Nursing a Baby With Eczema What Is the Effect of a Glass of Wine After Taking Metformin?

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How to Stop Lactating After Finishing Breast Feedingtop wine bars in new york city What Does High Vitamin C While Breast-feeding Do?top 10 expensive wine in world Dark Yellow Urine While BreastfeedingWant more from Sunday TODAY? Catch up on our interviews and features here Science says drink up! A glass of wine can totally help chill you out Tom Kelley Archive/retrofile/getty images / Today “Drinking wine—and alcohol in general—is one of the most time-honored ways for disconnecting our brains at the end of the day,” says Jacob Teitelbaum, M.D., board certified internist and author of numerous health and wellness books, his latest being The Fatigue and Fibromyalgia Solution. ”This has been documented for over 5,000 years, and there’s a good reason for its persistent popularity.”

”Alcohol, including wine, calms transiently because it is a central nervous system depressant,” explains David L. Katz, M.D., the founding director of Yale University's Prevention Research Center, and the author of Disease-Proof. In other words, alcohol is sedating. But before you hop into your pajamas and pop your favorite Moscato, there are a few things to keep in mind, including how much you drink and when. “One glass of wine at dinner is apt to have a calming effect without impairing sleep,” adds Dr. Katz. Yet drinking greater quantities of wine can have a direct effect on your metabolism, which can interrupt your slumber. “So the net effect of relying on alcohol for relaxation is adverse if too much is consumed, too close to bed time.” Dr. Teitelbaum also warns: “Those who suffer from severe gastritis and nighttime acid reflux should avoid wine since it can aggravate these conditions.” If you’re looking for an extra health boost, sip a glass of red wine, as opposed to white.