Women who are breastfeeding are not completely discouraged from drinking alcohol in new nutrition recommendations – contrary to previous suggestions.
The proposal for the new Nordic nutritional recommendations (NNR), which was submitted for consultation in the spring, contained the advice that breastfeeding women should completely abstain from alcohol because it is not possible to rule out risks for the child.
It is a reversal from previous advice and has caused debate. The Swedish Food Agency has also raised questions.
But according to the final version of the recommendations, the same alcohol advice should apply to breastfeeding as to the rest of the population.
– We have deleted the advice on total abstinence, says Rune Blomhoff, project manager for NNR.
“Many comments”
However, he does not want to specify what is behind it:
– We have generally made many adjustments as we worked further with the scientific basis and received many comments from researchers. There is now a large consensus within NNR regarding the advice.
The Swedish Food Agency has previously pointed out that alcohol that passes into breast milk has a very low concentration. The child ingests significantly less alcohol than if the mother drinks during pregnancy, where the advice is total abstinence.
Restricting breastfeeding women unnecessarily can be problematic and could lead to fewer people breastfeeding, according to the authority.
Sharpens the tone against alcohol
The general advice for the adult population is that everyone “should avoid alcohol consumption”, and the NNR states that there is no safe limit for alcohol consumption. If you still want to drink, the intake must be “very low”.
The Nordic nutritional recommendations form the scientific basis for the Swedish dietary advice, which is now to be updated, but is not taken out of hand.