Pregnancy
When Can I Breastfeed After Drinking? Calculator
For one standard drink, wait at least 2 hours before breastfeeding. For each extra drink, add about 2 more hours. Alcohol in breast milk goes up and down with the alcohol in your blood, so it only leaves your milk as your body clears it. PanaKit's breastfeeding alcohol calculator uses your weight and what you drank, in US standard drinks or UK units, to estimate when your milk should be alcohol free. It runs in your browser, and nothing you enter is stored or sent anywhere.
Your results
Your result will appear here after you calculate.
How long to wait: hours by weight and number of drinks
Times are counted from when you started drinking. One drink here is a US standard drink with 14 g of alcohol: a 12 oz beer at 5%, a 5 oz glass of wine at 12% or a 1.5 oz shot of 40% spirits. Times marked * follow the CDC minimum of 2 hours per drink, because the body-water estimate came out shorter.
| Your weight | 1 drink | 2 drinks | 3 drinks | 4 drinks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 45 kg (99 lb) | 2h 50m | 5h 40m | 8h 35m | 11h 25m |
| 50 kg (110 lb) | 2h 45m | 5h 25m | 8h 10m | 10h 50m |
| 55 kg (121 lb) | 2h 40m | 5h 15m | 7h 50m | 10h 25m |
| 60 kg (132 lb) | 2h 30m | 5h 00m | 7h 30m | 10h 00m |
| 65 kg (143 lb) | 2h 25m | 4h 50m | 7h 10m | 9h 35m |
| 70 kg (154 lb) | 2h 20m | 4h 40m | 6h 55m | 9h 15m |
| 75 kg (165 lb) | 2h 15m | 4h 30m | 6h 40m | 8h 55m |
| 80 kg (176 lb) | 2h 10m | 4h 20m | 6h 25m | 8h 35m |
| 90 kg (198 lb) | 2h 00m* | 4h 00m* | 6h 00m* | 8h 00m* |
| 100 kg (220 lb) | 2h 00m* | 4h 00m* | 6h 00m* | 8h 00m* |
UK units: how long to wait after common drinks
In the UK, 1 unit is 10 ml (8 g) of pure alcohol. The NHS suggests avoiding breastfeeding for 2 to 3 hours for every drink. Here's what the calculator estimates for common drinks, counted from when you start the drink.
| Drink | Units | 55 kg (8 st 9 lb) | 70 kg (11 st) | 85 kg (13 st 5 lb) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pint of 4% beer, lager or cider (568 ml) | 2.3 | 3h 20m | 3h 00m | 2h 40m |
| Pint of 5.2% beer (568 ml) | 3.0 | 4h 20m | 3h 50m | 3h 30m |
| 330 ml bottle of 5% beer | 1.6 | 2h 25m | 2h 10m | 2h 00m |
| Small glass of wine, 125 ml at 12% | 1.5 | 2h 15m | 2h 00m | 2h 00m |
| Standard glass of wine, 175 ml at 12% | 2.1 | 3h 05m | 2h 45m | 2h 30m |
| Large glass of wine, 250 ml at 12% | 3.0 | 4h 25m | 3h 55m | 3h 30m |
| Single spirit, 25 ml at 40% | 1.0 | 2h 00m | 2h 00m | 2h 00m |
| Double spirit, 50 ml at 40% | 2.0 | 2h 55m | 2h 35m | 2h 20m |
Understanding your result
The time shown is when alcohol in your milk should have dropped to about zero. Alcohol doesn't build up or get trapped in breast milk. As the level in your blood falls, the level in your milk falls too.
Alcohol in milk is usually highest 30 to 60 minutes after a drink. Food in your stomach can slow it down and lower the peak, but it doesn't make your body clear alcohol faster. Neither do water, coffee, sleep or expressing milk.
If you feel the effects of alcohol, you are not ready to breastfeed. Wait until you feel completely sober and the time shown has passed, whichever is later.
Safe drinking while breastfeeding
- Not drinking is the safest option. An occasional drink is unlikely to harm your baby if you wait at least 2 hours before the next feed (CDC, NHS).
- Moderate drinking means up to 1 standard drink a day. The CDC says more than 1 drink a day while breastfeeding is not recommended. In the UK, the low-risk guideline is no more than 14 units a week, spread over 3 or more days.
- Feed your baby or express just before you drink, so you have the longest gap before the next feed.
- Never share a bed or sofa with your baby if you've had any alcohol. This is strongly linked with SIDS (NHS).
- If you're planning to drink heavily, arrange for a sober adult to care for your baby.
- This calculator is not for alcohol use disorder or for deciding whether you're safe to drive. If you find it hard to cut down, talk to your doctor, midwife or health visitor. In the US you can call the SAMHSA National Helpline on 1-800-662-4357. In the UK, see NHS alcohol support.
How it's calculated
The calculator works out how many grams of alcohol you drank: volume in ml × ABV × 0.789 (the density of alcohol). It then estimates how high your blood alcohol rises from your body water. Body water comes from your weight and height using the Watson formula for women, which is what the Motherisk table published in Canadian Family Physician uses. Alcohol in breast milk is about the same as in blood. Your body clears alcohol at a steady rate, so the calculator assumes your blood alcohol falls by 0.015% per hour and counts from your first drink. If you had drinks at different times, it adds each one when you had it. The result is the later of two times: this estimate, or the CDC guide of 2 hours per standard drink (and at least 2 hours after your last drink). It's rounded up to the next 5 minutes. We checked the method against the published Motherisk table. It matches the published times to within a couple of minutes for body weights from 90 to 210 lb. Real clearance varies. Food, how fast you drink, your liver and medicines can all change it, so treat the time as a guide.
Frequently asked questions
For a 5 oz (148 ml) glass of 12% wine, which is one US standard drink, wait at least 2 hours. For many women it's closer to 2 to 3 hours, depending on weight. A UK standard 175 ml glass is 2.1 units, so allow about 2.5 to 3 hours. A large 250 ml glass is 3 units, so allow about 3.5 to 4.5 hours. Enter your weight above for your own time.
An occasional drink is unlikely to harm your baby if you wait. After one 12 oz beer at 5%, the CDC suggests waiting at least 2 hours before you breastfeed. Stronger or bigger beers take longer: a UK pint of 4% beer is 2.3 units, about 2.5 to 3.5 hours for most women. Craft beers at 7% or more count as more than one drink.
The CDC says alcohol from 1 drink can usually be found in breast milk for about 2 to 3 hours, from 2 drinks for about 4 to 5 hours, and from 3 drinks for about 6 to 8 hours. Lighter women and stronger drinks are at the longer end. The table above shows times by weight.
No. Alcohol isn't trapped in your breasts. It moves back and forth with your blood, so expressing and throwing milk away doesn't lower the level any faster. Only time does. You can still express for comfort if your breasts feel full, and throw that milk away if you expressed it before the safe time.
Units = volume in ml × ABV % ÷ 1,000. A 175 ml glass of 12% wine is 2.1 units, a pint of 4% beer is 2.3 units and a single 25 ml spirit is 1 unit. A rough guide is about 1 to 1.5 hours per unit depending on your weight, and never less than 2 hours after any drink. The NHS suggests 2 to 3 hours per drink. Choose the UK drinks list above to calculate it for you.
Never share a bed or sofa with your baby after drinking any alcohol, because it's strongly linked with sudden infant death syndrome. If you've had more than a drink or two, or you feel the effects, make sure a sober adult can care for your baby.
Eating before or while you drink can slow how fast alcohol gets into your blood and lower the peak. Nothing makes your liver clear it faster, not water, coffee, sleep or exercise. Plan by the clock.
Not drinking is the safest choice. The CDC says moderate drinking, up to 1 standard drink a day, is not known to harm a breastfed baby, especially if you wait 2 hours before nursing. The NHS says an occasional drink is unlikely to cause harm if you wait at least 2 hours, and advises no more than 14 units a week. If you find it hard to cut down, talk to your doctor or midwife. Read more: can you ovulate while breastfeeding?
Sources
- CDC, Alcohol and breastfeeding (updated 13 Apr 2026)
- NHS, Breastfeeding and drinking alcohol
- NHS, Calculating alcohol units
- NIH LactMed, Alcohol
- Koren G. Drinking alcohol while breastfeeding: will it harm my baby? Canadian Family Physician 2002;48:39–41 (Motherisk table)
- Ho E, Collantes A, Kapur BM, Moretti M, Koren G. Alcohol and breast feeding: calculation of time to zero level in milk. Biol Neonate 2001;80:219–222
- Watson PE, Watson ID, Batt RD. Total body water volumes for adult males and females estimated from simple anthropometric measurements. Am J Clin Nutr 1980;33:27–39
- Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, Clinical Protocol #21 (Revised 2023)
- NIAAA, What is a standard drink?
- NHS, Reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
- Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction, Canada's Guidance on Alcohol and Health