Draft Australian Dietary Guidelines (PDF, 3MB) - Eat For Health

Drinking coffee, having a cold shower, vomiting or exercise do not reduce blood alcohol content[609].3.4.4.1 Pregnant and breastfeeding womenAlcohol consumption by pregnant women may harm the unborn baby. Heavy daily drinking orheavy episodes of drinking have the most risk, and the risk from low-level drinking (one or twodrinks per week) is likely to be small. However there is no lower limit that can be guaranteed tobe completely safe, so avoiding alcohol while pregnant or breastfeeding is the safest option [609].There is limited research on the effects of maternal alcohol consumption during lactation andinfant development. Mothers who consume alcohol are more likely to stop breastfeeding beforesix months than mothers who do not drink [673, 674]. Animal and observational studies suggestthat the consumption of two standard drinks or more per day during lactation is associated withdeficits in infant psychomotor development and disrupted infant sleep-wake behavioural patterns[673]. A baby’s intake of alcohol from breastmilk is not harmless. Alcohol levels in breastmilkparallel blood alcohol levels and therefore the longer the time between drinking alcohol andbreastfeeding, the safer for the baby. The safest option for women who are breastfeeding is toabstain from alcohol (see Section 3.4) [609]. For those who drink, expressing milk beforeconsuming alcohol is the next best option [609].3.4.4.2 Children and adolescentsAlcohol use by younger people is associated with harmful effects on brain development. TheNHMRC recommends that parents and carers should be advised that children under 15 years ofage are at the greatest risk of harm from drinking. For this age group, not drinking alcohol isespecially important. For people aged 15−17 years, the safest option is to delay drinking for as longas possible [609].3.4.4.3 Older peopleOlder people are more susceptible than others to the toxic effects of alcohol due to changes intheir body composition, decreased metabolic capacity, the presence of co-morbid conditions andmedications that regulate these conditions [675].Many older people take medications that may interact with alcohol. A combination of alcohol andmedication increases the risk of falls and injury [676-678].The NHMRC Alcohol Guidelines state that ‘cumulative alcohol-related harm is more evidentamong older people. For some older adults, drinking alcohol increases the risk of falls and injuries,DRAFT Australian Dietary Guidelines- December 2011 99