To think 2 glasses of wine per week won't do any harm?

[Poptart4]

I fully expect to be eaten alive for this post but here we go...

I'm 4 weeks pregnant with my 4th child. With my first 3 pregnancies I didn't touch a drop for 9 months and all dc were perfectly healthy. However I have watched people, friends/acquaintances, binge drink every weekend through out their pregnancies and their children were also perfectly healthy.

To be clear i would never binge drink while pregnant!

But I have been thinking that maybe 2 glasses of wine max on a Friday evening won't do any harm.

What do you think? Anyone else done the same? Did it harm your baby?

[Twickerhun]

Depends a bit on the size of the glass.

I’d go max one small /medium glass a week. Through both pregnancies I’ve hardly drunk tho. Just my personal preference.

[RubbishRobotFromTheDawnOfTime]

I wouldn't.

And someone telling you they had that much and their child is fine is meaningless.

[SoTotallyOverThis]

Personally I wouldn’t. Because if I did and something didn’t turn out right I’d always blame myself. I did drink in both my pregnancies so I’m not saying 100% abstinence but I never felt comfortable going above one very small glass every couple of weeks or less.

[LadyBunnysWig]

There's a good chance it won't cause any harm at all, but what if it did?
Also, what is the point?

[RedLemonade]

It probably won’t but, really, you just never know. I think (???) there may be evidence out there of possibly tiny effects on the fetus even at very low levels of alcohol consumption. But it’s so variable. Sorry for vagueness of this statement!

I’d hold off for the first trimester myself. I have had the odd glass in later pregnancy but didn’t make a regular “event” of it.

I don’t know.... No one does really. That’s the point I think.

[Ummmmgogo]

this is a weird post! I've heard of heroin addicts giving birth to healthy babies bit it didn't tempt me to pick up a syringe. the 2 glasses probably wouldn't do any harm but it won't get you drunk either so what's the point?

[pastabest]

I've never felt like drinking before 12 weeks but after that if I've felt like a glass of wine I've had one.

I'm roughly having 1 glass of wine every week at the moment, sometimes 2, sometimes none. I did in my previous pregnancy too.

I personally wouldn't drink both glasses the same night though.

[Hopehope20]

I would never judge anyone's choices...but I personally wouldn't risk it. There is so much that can go wrong in pregnancies....I would never see the point in increasing those risks. Also 4 weeks is a crutial time for development and some studies say the worst time to have any alcohol. I have given up drinking since TTC....my boyfriend got me a non alcoholic cocktail recipe book which is amazing!

[mumpoints]

Why though? Why even risk it?

[WhatToDoAboutThis2017]

I wouldn’t be so careless with my baby’s life even if the risk was small.

[Monoblock67]

Why though? What’s the point? You don’t know the potential long term damage that may be affecting your boozy friends babies.

If you’ve done three pregnancies without it why now? What’s the difference? Why take the risk?

Fetal alcohol syndrome is a risk and those babies-it’s utterly heartbreaking and we don’t know exactly how much alcohol it takes to cause it.

[SlackerMum1]

Meh.... the best available evidence suggests that ‘moderate drinking’ (classed as up to 9 units a week) has no effect once other factors (e.g. mother’s level of education) has been controlled for. So if you drink within the old nhs guidelines - 1 to 2 units once or twice a week - you are well within safe limits. No doubt people will be along to say ‘why take the risk’ and ‘alcohol effects everyone differently’ but bottom line is current best research does not suggest risk associated with drinking a small amount and the debate about how alcohol effects people differently actual refers to high levels of consumption - e.g. some people can drink a bottle a day and down vodka shots at the weekend and still give birth to a healthy baby (although anyone jumping on me.... obviously most don’t and there are high risks of serious harm associated with high levels of drinking, but some are ok and we don’t know why). Only you can decide what you want to do but the research does not suggest you should worry about it.

[Lilonetwo]

I'd say go for it. If it's 2 glasses a week I'm sure you would be fine. I do and have been giver the go ahead by a family member who is a doctor.

I am surprised and worried about your friends who have binge drinking throughout their pregnancies though!

[Monoblock67]

When you had your newborn baby would you put even the tiniest most minuscule drop of alcohol in its feed? No?

[YerAuntFanny]

Why does it have to be a planned regular thing? I could understand a small glass with a special meal or at a social event but I think every week just for the sake of it is a bit much.

Personally I chose to steer clear altogether as I work with children and families affected by disability and I've heard parents beating themselves up about whether that glass of wine they had or the nights out they'd been when they didn't know they were pregnant might have contributed to the issues they're dealing with now.

Of course, in all likelihood that had nothing to do with it but I'd hate to be in that position questioning myself everytime I looked at my child.

[Rumpledfaceskin]

I wouldn’t go over 1 drink at a time or drink more than a little snif in the first trimester. But I know plenty of people who have had a couple towards the end of pregnancy and I would think that’s probably fine, if ‘probably’ is ok for you. I felt way to sick to touch the stuff but I liked t9 kick back with a becks blue! Makes you feel like you’re having a drink.

[Monoblock67]

Slackermum1-where is this research please?

[Singlebutmarried]

I used to enjoy a glass of red with my Sunday dinner. But only once I was on the home stretch.

[PrimalLass]

I did

[Lana1234]

I drank at your stage of pregnancy unknowingly. My 5mo is a perfect little happy and healthy baby. If I had known I would not have drank though. Just not worth any kind of risk for some wine tbh. As soon as I found out I didn't have any from that point. I started drinking those non alcoholic kopabergs when DP was having a drink and they were actually lovely so didn't really miss it. Then 2nd and 3rd trimester the very thought of alcohol would make me feel sick 😷 I'd just say it wasn't worth any risk tbh

[AccrualIntentions]

I wouldn't but I don't really drink when not pregnant anyway. However it's not likely to cause any problems at that level. The book "Expecting Better" has an interesting look at the evidence behind a lot of the guidance of what to do and not to do during pregnancy.

[Jengnr]

It will be fine.

[Casmama]

I wouldn’t in the first trimester. Later on maybe.

[AHedgehogCanNeverBeBuggered]

What Slacker said. If you read the actual evidence it's clear that for expectant mothers drinking 1-2 units once or twice a week there are zero ill effects reported. (Actually mothers who drink lightly generally have better outcomes but this is most likely because better-educated parents do their own research and therefore their DC are more likely to be middle class (and therefore breastfed, weaned after 26 weeks, not exposed to smoke etc.).

[PinkDaffodil2]

I’d hold off during the first trimester, but the odd glass of wine after that I wouldn’t worry about.
Also 2 glasses of wine can be quite a lot depending on glass size / ABV.