alcohol in pregnancy would you worry about tipple?

[pokeypants]

Im half way through pregnancy and feeling well in general, in first trimestar i felt awful and obviously last thing i wanted was alcohol so abstained completely. Now I am back to normal and so is my taste for wine! I have always had the attitude that if i deprive myself i will want something more so i just go with the flow and allow myself the odd tipple/ which is a glass or two of wine of an evening. I dont get drunk wouldn't dream of drinking in excess, but i know the latest advice is avoid alcohol all together, probably because of those who continue getting plastered through pregnancy and damage their unborn babies. My first pregnancy I didn't touch a drop throughout and second had the odd glass same as this time, both were good weights, big healthy babies and growing into very bright children. What do others think?

[Lovelylace]

For me this is a no no...did I understand you correctly that you drink a glass or two most evenings, or is it very rarely? A glass of wine is actually quite strong, I can feel a difference in me after one and definately after two glasses, so imagine how much that will be for a tiny little baby...I know that there are babies being born with no issues even if the mother both drank and smoked but personally i would not take the risk. For me it is only 9 months of my life and it really is not such a big sacrifice to make to abstain from a drink for that length of time (and I do really enjoy my wine).
I see it as an opportunity to detox from alcohol and caffeine and hopefully be able to have a massievley reduced intake of both once the baby has been born.
I feel that my responsibility as a mother is to give this new person the best start in life, from healthy eating/living for me, whilst carrying them, to bringing them up in a healthy, active lifestyle and giving them a good grounding and education to be able to do the best and acheive whatever they want when they grow up. To instill good values and a good moral and ethical basis for them to be able to use and fall back on when they have to make decisions on their own. That is my job, and something I take pretty seriously, and within this falls not to smoke, drink and live unhealthily whilst they are completely dependant on me for their nutrition and development.

[ItsMyLastOne]

Last time I couldn't stand the taste of anything alcoholic so literally had about 3 drinks my whole pregnancy.
This time I have had cravings for cider! I'll have 2 or 3 halves a week so nothing really. I couldn't drink 2 glasses of wine a night, but only because I get very drunk on it!

[FluffyJawsOfDoom]

I think the current advice is 1 glasses 1-2 times a week - 1-2 glasses a night is far too much in pregnancy imho, and I consider myself quite liberal I'd suggest speaking to your MW about it tbh.

[FluffyJawsOfDoom]

*1 glass, not 1 glasses!

[Pinkflipflop]

You have to do what is right for you and the baby. This is my personal opinion and speaking as someone who really loved a glass of wine pre-pregnancy, but I wouldn't be planning on drinking if I were you.

You are only pregnant for such a short time in your life, could you find something else to drink? I have been really enjoying fizzy apple juice!

As far as I know, if you drink it so does the baby- it's up to you though! I'm 15 weeks and won't be drinking until after I give birth, I don't judge others if they choose to drink though!

Good luck

[Noqontrol]

I used to have a couple of small glasses on fri and sat night but no more than that.

[BegoniaBigtoes]

I think what you're having does sound like a bit much, but OTOH I think there's too much hysteria about this. I'd have no more than one small glass in an evening, and try to have 2-3 evenings a week alcohol-free. I know it's hard when you're exhausted and it gets to wine-o-clock. But via 2 pregnancies and BF periods, I have got used to having much less wine than I used to and you do adjust to it.

Alcohol-free Becks lager is nice, try that?

[KentuckyFriedChildren]

Yeah I've had the odd glass of white but I've diluted it with lemonade (its actually not that bad) and a half of guiness if I've felt like it. But this is once in a while not often and I wouldn't be drinking 2 glasses of wine in one go.

[JennerOSity]

If I read the post correctly you are ok with a glass or two each evening.

I would say that is highly risky.

There are people who consume high levels of alcohol in pregnancy and no apparent ill effects occur.

But there are also those babies who are affected, perhaps by comparatively low levels - you won't know which your baby will be, until it is born and too late.

If you deny your urges and want it more - is that such a bad thing? - you won't be denying yourself for long, half way through you only have about 20 weeks to go.

Foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is the biggest cause of non-genetic handicap in the western world and is totally preventable. I know of one person whose doctor advised 4 small glasses of wine would be OK in pregnancy after 1st trimester. Her son was born with FAS and she has to live with that for the rest of her life - even though she thought she was within safe limits. The fact is that no-one actually has a definitive safe limit - some babies will be affected others not by the same alcohol consumption of the mother - depends if you want to gamble with your baby.

[lannyshrops]

I have made the decision not to drink, although the thought of wine has me searching for the nearest sick bowl! That said, cider and beer really appeal to me at the moment which is odd as I don't normally like either!

There appears to be lots of contradicting advice about drinking in pregancy so I dont think anyone yet knows what if any amount is 'safe'. The risk of Fetal Alchohol Syndrome was enough to make my decision. There are enough risks which you have no control over and I felt that was one Ididn't have to take.

My cousin loved a tipple and she socialises alot. She found it really hard not to have a drink when she was pregnant especially as she didn't find the thought repulsive! She drank the non alcoholic wines which made her feel a bit more included?

[JennerOSity]

^^ that is - 4 small glasses of wine a week. Which equates to 3 nights alcohol free.

[bloodyfurious]

I have a couple every now and them, I am 20 weeks or so, the guidlelines are there to penalise the masses for the behaviour of the few, and tbh, my life is very stressful at the moment and I occasionally NEED a glass of wine, although I tend towards a nice GnT.

Yes I know I shouldnt use alcohol as a relaxant but then in my world at the moment, thats the least of my concerns.

There is very little actual research into alcohol and pregnancy.

[ItsMyLastOne]

Jenner a doctor told her 4 small glasses a night was ok?! That's at least 2/3 bottle if not a whole bottle depending on what your 'small' measure is. so 6-9 units. In a night?? I hope she made a complaint about this advice afterwards.

[ItsMyLastOne]

Oh, oops, I should have refreshed. So 4 a week and he had FAS? That's scary!

[MrsHelsBels74]

I love a drink but I made a conscious decision not to drink during pregnancy as I don't see it as a huge sacrifice to make for the sake of my unborn child. That saying, I have times when I could murder a chilled glass of wine or cider! But I just don't think it's worth the risk.

I don't mean to sound preachy as it's your decision.

[JennerOSity]

No not a night - sorry wasn't clear. That amount over the course of a week. She did complain, but as there are no hard and fast guidelines there was no case as such. Lets hope the same doctor isn't giving that advice out now.

This was about a decade ago.

[Ephiny]

I think the occasional small glass is fine, but wouldn't drink every evening (tbh I wouldn't do this regardless of pregnancy).

[exiledmancityfan]

I was told during my first PG that 2-3 glasses a week after the first trimester were ok (8yrs ago) and told to avoid it completly for this one, the information changes so frequently and if you look at the list of everything that you should not eat or drink during pregnancy and followed it to the letter I am not sure what you would eat or drink. I must say that I have had a few glasses of wine and eaten some things that are on the 'banned list' during this one, now 34 wks.

[JennerOSity]

Itsmylastone - yes pretty scary - but nature is funny like that. There isn't a black and white threshold. A baby maybe affected by a relatively small amount or not affected by a relatively larger amount. The only way to be sure is to abstain, or to keep the risk very low, only have a drop rarely. But really you are pregnant for such a short time in the grand scheme of things - the sacrifice isn't huge IMO.

When the drinking habits of children with FAS are looked at they vary quite a lot. This is why the guidelines are not set in stone, the reason why some babies are affected and not others are not known.

[JennerOSity]

I really love a beer with a curry, and can honestly say after trying practically everything on the market that Becks Blue is the best alcohol free beer there is! It tastes like the real thing, has no horrid after taste and hits the spot when you fancy a chilled beer in the garden in the evening.

I would say you could kid yourself enough with this to get past the 'need a glass of the good stuff' thing without feeling too hard done by.

I use this instead of alcohol free wine as I find that tends to be too sweet for me.

[maswera]

IMO there is much hysteria around alcohol in pregnancy despite the fact that there is very little research on the matter (for obvious ethical reasons!). And don't get me started on the <a class="break-all" href="//www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=pregnant+woman+symbol+alcohol&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1219&bih=307&tbm=isch&tbnid=Znao4QG7jUVDaM:&imgrefurl=www.shutterstock.com/pic-31708054/stock-vector--quot-no-alcohol-for-pregnant-woman-quot-logo.html&docid=tvDirHnxE28_wM&imgurl=image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/317173/317173,1244492408,4/stock-vector--no-alcohol-for-pregnant-woman-logo-31708054.jpg&w=450&h=468&ei=lXArUOKRBIrO0QWyvYH4DQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=73&vpy=-37&dur=140&hovh=229&hovw=220&tx=104&ty=176&sig=102480041773443640804&page=1&tbnh=93&tbnw=89&start=0&ndsp=19&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:73" rel="nofollow noindex" target="_blank">symbol put on some alcoholic drinks...

The current advice is no alcohol in pregnancy - but that is only because it was decided that advice about units was 'confusing' - ie, we're too stupid to understand what a unit is

There is no evidence that a couple of units a couple of times a week will do any harm to your baby. I would advise you use your common sense rather than asking others what they think on this as there will be people queueing up to tell you that it's just not worth the risk (despite undertaking much riskier activities, like, ooh, getting in a car...)

[FluffyJawsOfDoom]

Great post Jenner

I second the suggestion of Becks Blue, I love it (and will likely drink it after I give birth too, it's delicious)

[Lillabet]

I drank approximately 6 small glasses of wine with my last pregnancy (throughout the entire pregnancy) always with a meal and my DS is fine. I'm pregnant again and I don't anticipate doing anything differently. I tend not to drink, mostly because I don't fancy it (the first 4 months I definitely didn't!) but that doesn't mean I won't have a small (90ml - yes I do measure it! ) glass of a decent wine with a meal if I feel like it.
The above is entirely my personal preference and opinion, you have to do what's right for you, although I would say make sure you are as informed as possible before making your decision!
The latest research on drinking during pregnancy was done by Danish scientists, article from the BBC.

[pacificjade]

There really isn't enough research done on this. There was a recent study done in Denmark www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18506174 that suggests low/moderate drinking is safe.

My view is that the guidelines issued by the department of health are to abstain from alcohol as it's easier that trusting women to work out what low/moderate levels are.

Personally I drank a small glass or two of wine or beer several times a week after about 16 weeks (didn't fancy it during first trimester) during both my pregnancies.

[pacificjade]

Cross post Lillabet and you're better at doing links than I am!