Hookah & breastfeeding
Guys, plz don’t judge me on this. I’m a FTM and I wanna be able to enjoy my life again. This is our first and a surprise baby. I found out I was pregnant exactly a week after my last birthday. I drink alcohol very very occasionally but I do smoke hookah every now and then. My birthday was the last time I smoked hookah and had drinks, then once I found out I was pregnant I completely stopped everything.
Now that my baby is here and I’m 6weeks pp after my c section I’d like to step out of the house and be able to have fun again in my life. I had a traumatizing birthing experience. I mostly stayed home my entire pregnancy. Now I feel suffocated and I’m dying to go out!
My baby is breastfed and also eats formula. I wanna know if I smoke hookah again (not now but soon) how long should I wait before breastfeeding my baby again? Should I pump and dump? How long does the smoking effect stays on the breast milk? How long should I wait after I drink? Should I follow the same rule for both smoking hookah and drinking alcohol?
Show your support
La Leche League has info on smoking and breastfeeding https://llli.org/breastfeeding-info/smoking-and-breastfeeding/ And alcohol https://llli.org/breastfeeding-info/alcohol/ Basically the evidence is that breastfeeding is protective for the baby even if you smoke and/or drink, but it may be best to avoid feeding soon after. Always change clothes and wash hands before feeding baby after smoking. Because you're smoking a hookah rather than a cigarette, you're exposed to more nicotine (nearly double the amount) and more toxins so would definitely say use your judgement about waiting a while before feeding.
Yeah, as Genevieve mentions... hookah is a lot more unhealthy than a cigarette and you should keep that in mind.
You can drink and breastfeed (even simultaneously) as long as you’re not drunk it won’t affect the breast milk or baby at all. I have personally enjoyed a white claw for example whilst breastfeeding. In regards to hookah bc It has nicotine it does transfer into the breastmilk I believe. I enjoy some hits off a nicotine vape (5%) every now and then and still breastfeed. It’s really up to you. But breastmilk is still beneficial to your baby whether or not it has traces of nicotine