Why Milkscreen Test for Alcohol in Breast Milk?
- Non-invasive test strip for alcohol in breastmilk
- Easy-to-read results in just two minutes
- Made for nursing mothers
- Lactation consultant recommended
Why Testing Is So Important
When you drink, about 2% of the alcohol you drink gets into your bloodstream. From there it passes into your breast milk in the same proportion. The alcohol then stays in both your bloodstream and breast milk until it is completely metabolized and out of your system entirely.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) states that nursing mothers can have an occasional alcoholic drink—the equivalent of a 12-ounce beer, 4-ounce glass of wine, or ounce of hard liquor—but that mom should wait at least two hours per drink before breastfeeding. That’s because an alcoholic beverage in a standard portion typically takes two to three hours to clear from your bloodstream and breast milk.
That’s an average.
But here’s the thing. Are you “average”? Heck, no! “Average” is meaningless when it comes to someone as special as you!
No two women metabolize alcohol at the same rate. There are many factors that affect the metabolism of alcohol, such as body weight, the type and amount of alcohol you drink, and how much and when you’ve last eaten.
How to Use Milkscreen Breastmilk Test Strips
You’ll need an accurate timer and a Milkscreen test strip. Do not open foil pouch until you are ready to test your breastmilk.
- Open the pouch and remove test strip. Do not touch test pad at end of strip.
- Observe test pad to ensure it is a light cream color.
- Saturate test pad with breastmilk. You may express milk directly onto test pad or dip test pad in a pumped sample collected in a clean, dry container. Remove strip after 3 seconds and discard breastmilk sample.
- Tap excess breastmilk off test pad.
- Wait exactly 2 minutes.
- Read results 2 minutes after saturation. Any color, or speckling, on test pad indicates that alcohol is present. Reading test pad before, or after, 2 minute mark may cause an inaccurate reading.
Milkscreen is a consumer product and is not intended to be used in the prevention, diagnosis or treatment of alcohol intoxication or poisoning or other health-related conditions in women or nursing babies.
Milkscreen is subject to one pending patent application.
FAQs
Milkscreen is a simple test to detect the presence of alcohol in breast milk. It’s non-invasive and takes just two minutes.
Yes, but the milk should be brought to room temperature before testing. Once the milk is at room temperature, gently swirl the bottle containing the breast milk and pour a small amount into a container. Use milk from the container to perform the test.
The two-minute mark is what’s important. Because it’s exposed to oxygen, the test pad may continue to darken over time, even if alcohol is not present. The color of the pad exactly two minutes after saturation is the most accurate result.
A typical drink – a 12 oz beer, a 5 oz glass of wine, or a 1.5 oz portion of hard liquor, for example – takes an average of two to three hours to metabolize out of your system. But everyone is different, and it may last a longer or shorter period of time for you.
Yes. The expiration date is embossed on the back of each foil pouch containing a test strip. You’ll also find it on the outside of the package, on a sticker under “LOT.” The expiration date will be shown by year and month (e.g., 2016-08).
Maternal self-confidence is critical to maintaining breastfeeding. At the same time, many women want to enjoy an occasional drink after their baby is born and while they’re still nursing. (Hey, you’ve earned that glass of wine!) If you have an occasional alcoholic drink, you also want the peace of mind of knowing that your breast milk does not still contain alcohol. If alcohol is still present at feeding time, you can provide your baby with an alternate source of breast milk (from a supply pumped earlier) or formula. Milkscreen enables you to make smart decisions to take the best care of your baby possible.
A feeling of intoxication is not an accurate measure of determining if there’s alcohol in breast milk … not to mention the fact that alcohol can give you a false sense of bravado. Every woman metabolizes alcohol differently, and the amount of time it takes for the alcohol to leave the breast milk supply also varies. Body weight, type and amount of alcohol consumed, and food intake will all affect alcohol metabolism.
Milkscreen consists of a plastic strip with a reactive test pad applied to one tip. Two minutes after saturation with breast milk, the test pad will change color if alcohol is present at or above 13.1 mg/dL.
From a practical standpoint, pumping and dumping may keep you more comfortable if you have alcohol in your breast milk, but it won’t actually speed up the alcohol metabolism. That’s because as long as it’s in your bloodstream, it’s in your breast milk; they metabolize at about the same rate. If you are able to wait to breastfeed, the alcohol will dissipate from your breast milk in a few hours. No need to waste that liquid gold!
