Milkscreen: Like a Breathalyzer for Breastmilk

Milkscreen is a new product that helps a nursing mother figure out exactly when her breastmilk is alcohol-free after having a drink.

I was able to chat recently on the phone with Milkscreen co-founder Julie Jumonville, an engineer by trade and a 35-year-old Texas mother of two.

“We all have our Mommy guilt,” Jumonville said, explaining the idea behind Milkscreen. It’s a tool, she said, that can help mothers breastfeed safely, comfortably and for longer periods of time.

The recommendation these days is to exclusively breastfeed for at least six months, which means nursing mothers are going to confront more weddings, anniversaries and other special occasions where a drink might be desired than ever before, she said. Why not have a device that can determine exactly when it is safe to breastfeed?

Thanks to a bit of a baby boom here at The Journal News/Lohud.com, we’re able to give you a firsthand, mom-to-mom review. (I’ll repeat the American Academy of Pediatrics statement on the issue, which says the occasional small celebratory drink is compatible with breastfeeding, but obviously this is an individual choice for everyone.)

My nursing 6-month-old didn’t quite agree to give up some of her dinner in the name of science, but as a third child she’s amenable to most things, so I cracked a post-St. Patrick’s Day Guinness the other night with a Milkscreen sample at the ready.

It’s pretty simple. You dip a small white test strip about the size of a large matchstick into some expressed milk and wait two minutes. Then you look for a color change. No alcohol, no color change. If there is alcohol, the strip turns varying shade of green or gray.

The AAP recommends waiting two hours after a drink to breastfeed. In my review, I waited one hour after finishing the Guinness to test.

The verdict? Negative. No color change at all, which should mean no alcohol in my milk. Would I take that as gospel? Who knows, though Jumonville says the strips are sensitive enough to register even alcohol vapors in the air. It definitely gave me piece of mind that when I nursed an hour later, all was fine for baby. But if you are like me and don’t worry about the once-a-week drink anyway, then it seems a bit unnecessary. Later I’ll share some of my colleagues’ reactions.

A box with four test strips is $13.95.