Contribution by laifchan:
Was doing some reading about this issue and found 2 recent helpful articles written by Chinese researchers.
Here's a summary of my own thoughts and conclusions.
Out of the many traditions during confinement, taking red rice wine chicken soup is one that is held to dearly for a few reasons:
1. Its delicious :)
2. Claims of improving the mother's health ie prevents arthritis, balances the hot-cold thingy, improves strenght etc (not going to dispute it but lets just say so far no scientific evidence)
However, there have been countless research showing detrimental effects of alcohol on babies development (of course, a limitation is that most studies don't track children's development into adulthood).
The question is, does taking red rice wine chicken soup cause significant amounts of alcohol into breastmilk and cause negative effects in babies?
Well, anecdotally (meaning hearsay), Chinese women have been practicing these tradition for eons and have produced "bright" children who have grown up to be 'successful' adults. However, stories without examining the multiple factors that may influence how children turn out to be 'smart' may be misleading.
Also, there is a belief that the alcohol content in red rice wine chicken soup is negligible. This myth is challenged in 1 of the attached articles which showed that after less than 3 hrs after taking normal amounts of this soup, there IS still alcohol in the milk that can cause significant changes to the composition of breastmilk (less nutrients) and can decrease milk production.
Also, although Chinese women do breastfeed during confinement while taking red rice wine chicken soup, not many breastfeed exclusively but end up supplementing with formula milk even within the 1st mth, so the babies maybe less exposed to the negative consequences of alcohol.
Given the many proven benefits of exculsively breastfeeding for at least 6 mths ie better immunity in babies, what options do mothers have if they still want to take red rice wine soup while exclusively breastfeeding?
Well, I guess it should be done in moderation and breastfeeding timed to be at least 3 hrs after consumption of this soup.
For myself, a practical thing to do is:
1.limit any form of alcohol to just this soup (personal reasons coz i find it delicious, not for any health benefits, and don't like taking any other form of alcohol ie DOM etc)
2. Take it during dinner after i've expressed milk for my baby's night-feeds
-this way, it would be at least a good 8 hrs before i nurse my baby after the soup and this will probably mitigate any effects of the alcohol
-couldn't do it for Jason as he seemed to be perpetually stuck to my breasts and left me no time to express, so I didn't take any soup, anyway he had jaundice so all the more reason not to take any alcohol (didn't want to overwork his tiny liver)
- another advantage of giving the baby expressed milk at night is somebody else (husbands/confnement lady) can help feed the baby while the mother is able to rest
Any other ideas or comments, people?
More on : Doing the 'Confinement Month'
Thank you, laifchan!!!
