Alcohol

[MrsCK]

Can I get opinions or experiences of drinking alcohol in pregnancy? I'm literally talking 1 glass a week...If that. What are the guidelines?

[SouthDerbyshireMamma]

NHS advice is to avoid it. If you decide not to then you should only have 1 or 2 units once or twice a week.

I made the decision to cut it out all together, even on my 30th Birthday. 40 weeks isn't a long time to go in the grand scheme of things

[DearDinah]

There's probably advice on the NHS website, I had a glass of lager shandy in the week, it was lush but I felt a bit guilty! Lol

[Crocodileclip]

I'm having one small glass of wine every fortnight. Completely arbitrary amount I know but it works for me.

[MrsCK]

I like the idea of a small glass every fortnight. I'm going to wait until second trimester anyway but useful to know your thoughts....Thanks!

[cheshirem2b]

I had a glass of prosecco last weekend for our anniversary and plan to have a small vino when we go out for a friend's birthday in a couple of weeks. I'm sure a small amount doesn't hurt anyone but I'm not risking anything by having more!

[Loujim2]

Why not try a non alcoholic drink? If we go out to a friends I take a couple of non alcoholic kopperbergs. They're really nice! x

[Pobblewhohasnotoes]

Becks Blue is great, tastes just the same. I've also had Kopperberg pear and Fosters Radler 0.0, which are all nice.

Haven't had any alcohol so far with this pregnancy. With DS I think I had a small glass of wine on Christmas Day and some champagne at a wedding.

[BananaPie]

Realistically, a small glass occasionally isn't going to do any harm at all. The nhs is over cautious and based on sound evidence that frequent moderate drinking (e.g everyday) does carry some risks (low birth weight, miscarriage), and that heavy / binge drinking carries serious risks including foetal alcohol syndrome. There is no evidence that occasional small amounts do any harm at all.

It makes me really angry that there appears to be absolutely no room for common sense / thinking for yourself. The nhs advice is one size fits all and based on the risk that some people will misinterpret 1-2 units once or twice a week as it being fine to drink bottles of the stuff.

[theborrower]

NHS guidelines www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/alcohol-medicines-drugs-pregnant.aspx

There's always some debate on here about whether guidelines are too strict, and it's up to you whether you follow them. But I've personally found it really easy to go completely without. In the first trimester it was honestly the last thing I could have stomached anyway. I'm in my third now, and it's still the same really. It would wipe me out!

As a wee treat sometimes I've had Eisberg alcohol free wine, the red is quite nice, and (psychologically) makes me feel like I've had that wee Friday night wind down.

[smellyfishead]

^^I agree. I read somewhere that babies born with fas were born from mothers who had all drunk above or around the 70 units a week mark, which was estimated as 1 bottle of wine every night.

[fruitpastille]

I had a small glass most weeks. It's a good idea to measure precisely and be aware of percentage alcohol a 2 units is not much wine really! I preferred a small taste with a nice meal rather than going without. I tried quite a few alcohol free options and decided normalcsoft drinks were nicer! Only exception was becks blue which was just about ok with curry but not like the real thing!

[ohthegoats]

I've probably averaged out a glass of wine a week over the whole pregnancy. To be honest, it makes me bright red and feel a bit pissed after about half a glass, so getting through the whole glass hasn't happened yet. I order it so optimistically!

Becks Blue is good, and so is the non alcohol Prosecco-like fizzy wine from M&S. I just want the taste really.

[weebairn]

I mostly avoided entirely in first trimester (my brother tricked me into a little glass before I'd told him I was pregnant!) - since then I have one or two small glasses of wine a week.

My standards have slipped since previous pregnancy, when I avoided for trimesters 1+2 and then had a glass a week in 3rd trimester. Hah.

I do not believe these small amounts do any harm at all and neither does any health care professional I know, whatever the official guidelines say.

[squizita]

Don't like the taste at all in pregnancy, so no dilemma. :)

But I understand from F&F that many people have a small glass a week. Dips in IQ etc' are for people who drink as if they weren't pregnant (but even women who don't know and drink for months are usually fine).
One of the issues with the data is they can't obviously make pregnant women drink, so they're relying on self-reported data. Women who drink too much usually know deep down and especially when their babies come out tiny or with a syndrome, so they play down the amount (or it doesn't match blood tests etc').
Therefore because the NHS cannot get their hands on definitive data they say none at all.

[RAFWife12]

NHS say none, as there will be some people out there who will think if 1-2 units a week is fine, more will be fine too.
They also can't ethically do clinical trials. They are going by self reported data, as squizita says.
Thirdly, everyone processes alcohol differently. Some people are drunk after 2 glasses of wine, others can have 2 bottles!
Ultimately we know alcohol can harm an unborn baby, we just don't know absolute limits.
Personally I haven't had any, but I haven't wanted it. First tri I was too sick, and just haven't missed it. Haven't even had the alcohol free alternatives!

[GingerRodgers]

I've had perhaps one bottle (altogether) of fosters radler which at about 0.6% is nothing but I've still been made to feel guilty about it.
I couldn't have stomached alcohol last pg but this one I've had a craving for a small chilled white wine.
Personally I blame the toddler

[moggle]

I was never a big drinker anyway, maybe a couple of units once a week. I had a couple of small glasses of champagne in the first trimester when telling parents etc, and now I'm in the second trimester I sometimes have a small drink once or twice a week if I feel like it (but most weeks I won't have anything, just like before). Say a small glass of wine with dinner or a g&t with plenty of tonic if at the pub and then continue with soft drinks. I read the book "expecting better" which collates the evidence and finds no evidence against having one or two units a week after the first trimester. I always drink slowly and make the drink last at least an hour! And never on an empty stomach. the slower you drink it, the more your liver can process itself and less alcohol will make into the baby's bloodstream.

[squizita]

Ginger Are you talking about "Radler 0%" (as opposed to the boozy one which is still just 2.6%) it's classed as 0% alcohol - they're allowed to put that on the bottle! Essentially you'd need to drink about 10-20+ bottles to be the equivalent to ONE small glass of weak wine.
It is also to do with food labelling laws: they have removed the alcohol, so have to say that it may contain up to 0.5 or 0.05% (depending on process) to cover their back. That's not the same as an ABV label. You will notice the lady-with-a-bump-and-a-cross is absent, when it is present on other products.
It is perfectly safe to drink in pregnancy and is sold for pregnant women and drivers, why else would they bother making it when the normal stuff is 2.6% so hardly jet fuel?

I drink with an 'absolutely NO booze' HCP and he's fine with ZERO percent bottles. In fact I'm pretty sure Radler (or Bavaria) say 0.0% don't they??

It sounds like someone else is making you feel bad, basically for nothing. This is awful! :(

[squizita]

Yup - it's 0.0%. www.tesco.com/groceries/Product/Details/?id=282486321

Meaning even if the machines were old and it was the booziest they're allowed to make it with that label, that would be 0.06%.
You would have to drink ONE HUNDRED BOTTLES OF IT to equal a small glass of weak white wine.
Enjoy!

[LucyB1]

Seems as if I'm the odd one out but I have been having one or 2 small glasses of wine (170ml) a week. I like wine a lot and feel that this will bring no harm whatsoever to my baby.

[GingerRodgers]

Sorry sqiz, I meant to say it was 0.6 units! Oops.
The 2% one I've had. Dh has been drinking it and I've had a few swigs but my 'd'brother is a bit of an arse made a point of showing me the crossed out pregnant lady. Thanks.

[ohthegoats]

The closest I've had to a suggestion of guilt infliction was when we were out for dinner. Mil ordered a bottle of wine, said 'three glasses please', then turned to me and asked 'what are you going to have to drink?', I just saud 'four glasses please' to the waitress and didn't look mil in the eye. I'm 40 years old, I can make my own decisions!

[squizita]

Ginger buy the 0.06% one and call his bluff then be smug! A few swigs won't hurt anyone.
I have had one accidental swig of a G&T, not bothered except the stupid barman gave them the wrong way round: clearly I was the one having plain tonic! :) Sadly I didn't even enjoy my single mouthful as booze tastes weird and metallic to me (usually I am a CAMRA member and go to wine tastings so this is deffo a symptom!).

[HalfPintPickle]

I've had a glass of wine when out for dinner and on special occasions and also when the fancy grabs me. Probably averaging about one glass every few weeks or so. I'm living on becks blue ATM though, this heat is doing me in!

I did have 3 becks blue at a wedding reception the other week and the looks I was getting from other guests were terrible!they obviously thought it was normal beer. ( I'm 7 months so no mistaking I'm up-Duffed! )

[Xcountry]

I didn't drink with #1 but 2, 3 and 4 I would have a glass or two of something on special occasions ie, Christmas, birthdays, weddings etc