Warning on smoke, alcohol
By ARWEN HANN - The Press | Wednesday, 24 January 2007
press.co.nz

More education is needed to encourage women to stop smoking and drinking during and immediately after pregnancy, Otago University researchers say.
The study found that while women were more likely to give up alcohol while they were pregnant they would often return to drinking once the baby had been born even if they were breastfeeding.
Women were less likely to give up smoking even while pregnant.
Co-author Sherly Parackal said more educated women with higher incomes were more likely to keep drinking while pregnant while women from lower socio-economic groups were more likely to smoke.
"We found that 66 per cent of women were still smoking, perhaps because it is harder to give up than alcohol," she said.
"We also found that women returned to drinking while they were breastfeeding even though there is still a risk. I think more education needs to be done on these things."....



Editor's note - the full article is here: http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/thepress/3937952a6530.html
This article doesn't define the risks of breastfeeding and alcohol use (or smoking and breastfeeding risks) and it apears to say the risk of pregnancy and drinking and breastfeeding and drinking are the same for the baby. I've contacted the study author to see if she can provide more details on her research regarding breastfeeding and alcohol consumtpion and risk. -- Jodine