I am an alcoholic. I have been in recovery and sober until I relapsed this August. Both of my parents are recovering alcoholics, I got it on both sides evidently.
My partner and myself had discussed having children and decided to start trying once I was in full recovery mode. I did not think I would conceive right away if not at all because I have some ovarian issues. I am an athlete thus have very low body fat, my periods have always been late, short, irregular. I thought nothing of the spotting etc until one day I just started feeling 'strange'.. I took an HPT and it was positive- to my excitement and absolute HORROR.
For the past three months I have drank just about every day, some days way more than others. For example, there were a few weeks I drank nothing, or some days I had two light beers, but there were a good handful of days I was taking down at least a pint of vodka. I know, this seems absurd but alcoholism is a terrible disease, and absolutely horrendous when you have a tolerance like a Russian steel worker.
When I got the positive test, I nearly fainted. Luckily I eat very healthy and had been taking prenatal vitamins in preparation for baby time.
I have stopped drinking completely, am attending outpatient rehab, had a scan/ob gyn appt and am awaiting an appointment with a perinatologist/maternal fetal medicine specialist. I studied human cellular bio in my grad/undergrad so I am aware of the potential outcome for this little bean. I am curious, do any of you out there know anyone who has been in this situation, or have you been in it yourself?
I can't fathom the idea of terminating this pregnancy, I think everything happens for a reason, and I couldn't be more grateful to have this miracle come around to give me the push I really need towards recovery and providing the best life I possibly can.
I have scoured the web, forums etc for some semblance of calm in this emotional storm of fear that I have done irreversible damage to my baby to be- any information, personal experience may be helpful. Thanks for taking the time to read.
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Pregnancy
Alcholism and pregnancy- didn't know I was pregnant until 12 weeks, need some guidance.
jaxy1185 · 12/01/2017 22:12
I can't offer any experience but I just wanted to wish you and your little bean well, congratulations on your pregnancy and your rehab 
I think you're doing brilliantly well so far OP, keep up the good work. The most important thing is that you have stopped drinking and you're getting support to stay sober.
You might be interested in the book "Expecting Better" which has a chapter about the research on alcohol and its impact during pregnancy.
I've read it and if I remember rightly the impact is minimal at the very beginning of the pregnancy - there are certainly risks with heavy drinking but I think it's less damaging in the first few weeks than later on.
Not to minismise your concerns, as they are very legitimate, but hopefully that might reassure you a bit that you may have done less damage than you fear.
Congratulations on your pregnancy btw
Congratulations on your pregnancy! 
Nobody can give you the certainty that your baby will be unaffected - you will have to weight until they are born and beyond to see how your baby develops.
However, there is nothing to say that your baby must be affected by your drinking and everything to gain by having stopped - bloody well done.
It sounds like you have good care lined up and are doing all the right things now.
Most women drink to some degree before they find out they are pregnant. Nobody knows what level of alcohol is harmful in pregnancy, hence the advice to not drink at all. However most pregnancies in which alcohol has been taken have good outcomes.
V best of luck!
No advice but just wanted to say well done 
It can't have been easy and you're proving that you are made of strong stuff.
Oh look it didn't take long before someone criticised the OP 
Contraceptive failures happen, people make mistakes, but the OP is doing her best and there's no point making her feel worse now.
Please don't be too hard on yourself, you've come a long way and you seem very motivated, this baby may be the very thing that keeps you sober.
That being said I work in social services and the effects of heavy drinking in early pregnancy are real. It's important to put into perspective though and there is a chance your baby will be born healthy.
Do you have any support for alcoholism ? There are some fantastic specialist midwives out there trained specially to deal with mums who have issues with alcohol or substance misuse. They are Fantastic people with lots of knowledge and no judgment
I think you're right to be worried. There's no real way of telling what impact, if any, this will have on the baby. I think I'd be reading up on, and preparing myself to have a baby with foetal alcohol syndrome.
Good luck with staying sober. You're absolutely doing the right thing now but I'm sure it's tough
Nothing to add but just wanted to wish you all the best OP I am also at your stage of pregnancy and I understand your worries. Keep going, you're genuinely doing great.
CupofTea, yes, I read the whole entire OP 
The OP is well aware that her level of drinking is potentially harmful to her pregnancy and might have longterm consequences for her baby - I don't think that she was looking to have that rammed down her throat.
Many many women (more than you'd like to think) drink very heavily throughout pregnancy and have normal pregnancy outcomes, many of those who drink heavily don't 
.
The problem is nobody can predict what will happen to an individual pregnancy and, literally, only time will tell how a child will develop (features of FAS can be apparent at birth, but again, only time tells how each individual child with FAS actually gets on).
The OP's question was:
I am curious, do any of you out there know anyone who has been in this situation, or have you been in it yourself?
So, jaxy, if you are still reading: yes, I've known a number of women who drank too much before and during pregnancy. Some were more successful in stopping once they found out, others not so much. The outcomes where all different - statistically speaking stopping drinking is the single most important thing you can do for your baby, so well done. Like I said, it sounds like you have all the relevant support on board; the rest is now down to a bit of good luck. Which I sincerely hope you will have
You have stopped drinking, so now work hard on staying stopped, not just during the pregnancy but in preparation to being a happy, healthy, stable mother for your child
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Op with DD1 I didn't find out till I was 19 weeks. I won't pretend I drank to your extent but I did have a couple of nights out which I did binge drink on. DD1 was fine.
Congratulations on your pregnancy and well done for seeking support, I wish you both the best. One of by friends is an alcoholic I sort of understand how hard it is to stop
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