To isolate the effects of lactation on alcohol pharmacokinetics from other physiological changes associated with pregnancy and parturition (229–231), BAC of lactating women who were exclusively breastfeeding (Breastfeeding Group) were compared to a group of women whose babies were the same age but whose babies were exclusively formula fed (i.e., similar in parity but controls for recency of parturition in the absence of lactation), and a group of nulliparous women (i.e., controls for parity in the absence of lactation). All groups had equivalent age, BMI, and alcohol consumption patterns and were assessed after drinking a moderate dose of alcohol on two separate days: once after a meal and once on an empty stomach. As expected, food-delayed peak BAC, decreased alcohol bioavailability (i.e., smaller AUCs), and sped up the alcohol elimination rate in all groups, but overall BACs and AUCs were lower in the lactating group when compared to the two control groups, which did not differ from each other (Figure 9). That reproductive state of lactation did not affect the elimination of alcohol suggests that the act of lactating reduces
