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Get updates on how your baby develops, your body changes, and what you can expect during each week of your pregnancy by signing up to the Mumsnet Pregnancy Newsletters.

Pregnancy

Drinking Alchohol

28 replies

chocolatefudge · 03/05/2005 20:53

Is it safe to have just one alchoholic drink during the first trimester? i'm 9wks +4

Friends are going out at the weekend i'm not sure if i can make it though if my morning sickness continues as i've had it every day since last Thursday.

OP posts:

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NannyJo · 03/05/2005 20:55

i had one glass of champagne at 8 weeks and all was fine. They do say though not to in first trimester cos that is when all the fundamental organs are being laid down.

The thing is will you even enjoy it. i never did cos i felt too guilty

LGJ · 03/05/2005 20:55

I had a singular glass, of wine only, chased down by lots of water, on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday for the whole of the 9 months.

DS is here and as smart as paint.

motherinferior · 03/05/2005 20:57

I drank like a fish for the first five weeks (BIG denial there) of my first pregnancy and had a glass most nights thereafter.

chocolatefudge · 03/05/2005 20:57

Mmm maybe i should just stick with drinking coke.
I will feel strange going out to the pub and being pregnant!

OP posts:

ETsmum · 03/05/2005 20:59

Remember having 1 drink when I was approx 5 weeks, as had to "pretend" wasn't pg. Funny thing was I was dressed as a nun for fancy dress at the time Personally, don't think 1 glass will hurt, but I appreciate this isn't the official line.

moondog · 03/05/2005 21:03

I'm with MI on alcohol consumption.
Reckon a glass of good wine is better for you than a Coke.
Was ticked off by a young German doctor for drinking at all but I rounded on him and asked if good food and the odd glass was any worse than no alcohol and the crap that most of the British eat. He concurred and confided that he thought thr British diet was so bad,he was off back to Munich! Ha ha!

Counld not have gone 9 months without a drink. Ditto for the 3 years of b/feeding that I have totted up so far.

stitch · 03/05/2005 21:05

its one of those things which may or may not be bad fro the foetus in small amounts.
one drink wont necesaarily cause any problems, but is it worth the risk? if drinking regularly is part of your lifestyle, then should probly be fine as long as you chase it down with lots of water, but again, would it be all that hard not to drink?
i think nannyjo is right though, you probly wont enjoy it coz of the guilt...
hope your morning sickness gets better

compo · 03/05/2005 21:43

Agree with MotherInferior and Moondog. Most European countries carry on with a glass of wine a day. We are told not to drink over here because binge drinking is such a problem but a glass a day is fine imo

motherinferior · 03/05/2005 21:46

And I never felt even remotely guilty.

moondog · 03/05/2005 21:47

My sister in France was told not to exceed a half litre with dinner. Lol!!!

beansprout · 03/05/2005 21:51

I'm with Stitch - why drink and then spend time justifying what you did/did not have? Why just not drink?!!

WideWebWitch · 03/05/2005 21:52

I drank in moderation during both pregnancies too.

aloha · 03/05/2005 21:57

The official advice is to drink very little, not to abstain totally. No evidence whatsover that a glass or two a week does any harm. But if you feel tortured about it already, and suspect you will feel worse if you have anything to drink, then don't.

PinkFluffPudding · 03/05/2005 21:58

During first pg I drank 1 unit per week during 1st trimester then relaxed and had 4-5 units pw after that.

Now into my second pg and have no idea how much i drink - not much, just the odd glass or two when i feel like it! I don't think a bit of alcohol does any harm during pg (IMO only!!) and if dd were any more alert I'd have a REAL problem on my hands!

Branster · 03/05/2005 22:01

with the risk of everyone laughing at me or totally disagreeing with me, I shall go ahead and say that no alcohol should be consumed during the pregnancy and breastfeeding, especially the first three months of the pregnancy.
This is based on medical advice from my country.
Saying that, I did drink (in moderation) in the first 2 months until I realised I was pregnant! From then on I must have had in total about 3 glasses of champagne until DD was 1 yr old and we stopped breastfeeding. Only because we attended a numebr of weddings and new year celebrations etc otherwise I wouldn't have bothered.

aloha · 03/05/2005 22:04

Branster, that's the ultimate in belt and braces safety and can do no harm, obviously, but really, there is no evidence that one or two units, once or twice a week do any harm. As for breastfeeding, a small glass of wine takes about 2.5 - 3 hours to clear from your system, so you can drink and have alcohol-free breastmilk, if you are worried. Especially if your child sleeps through!

Branster · 03/05/2005 22:06

well, that's what I thought at the time, better be safe than sorry if you don't know the evidence pro or contrary. but then again I'm very boring like that and stick to the rules and hardly ever drink as it is so it wasn't difficult for me. Oh, I did miss not eating pate though during pregnancy!!!!

aloha · 03/05/2005 22:09

I bet you had very shiny eyes!

Rochwen · 03/05/2005 22:14

Well, I went on a 3 day drinking binge (and I mean serious drinking) weekend in London with my girlfriends BEFORE I knew I was pregnant (around 4 weeks(doesn't that just always happen?) and I have been going crazy with guilt and regret until I spoke to my midwife and she told me that this sort of scenario is quite common and normally doesn't cause a problem. Apparently it's regular HEAVY drinking that causes the problems. I still wish it hadn't happened but I can't change that now. So, on reflection, one little glass once in a while is probably not going to cause much harm.

Also, I read somewhere that as long as you don't feel the effects of the drink i.e. tipsy, the baby won't either.

piffle · 03/05/2005 22:22

With ds I had no clue that I was pg and as I was in a band who played in an irish pub and had lock ins afterwards... well spent most of first 9 weeks drunk - I should have sussed really as I suddenly stopped smoking d'oh anyway ds is lovely and clever and happy and v v healthy
now with dd I stopped drinking while ttc, and throught preg (not hard with hyperemesis to 7 mths as it happened)
But then I was overtaken by this craving for lager - every time dh walked in the door after work I'd open a can of lager and take two sips from the top of the can and then he would have the rest, I did this most days til she was born.
AS she has a genetic condition albeit affected in a relatively minor way I have prosecuted myself over and over again
But I know I technically drunk more in the 1st preg and recklessly so I stick to that story...
But as a rule I think I would avoid it, bar an xmas toast etc...

Anchovy · 03/05/2005 22:22

I was pregnant in 2001 and 2003 and under the care of a consultant the whole way through. With first pregnancy she was remarkably relaxed about drinking - note that I only drink wine, never spirits, and only at home and with food, She was very happy about me drinking wine in those circumstances. In 2003 she said the evidence had firmed up a bit and said she was marginally more cautious than before, but was still entirely relaxed within those parameters.

She said that rules were strict to pick up "lowest common denominator" (eg going to pub and drinking vodka and irn bru not having had any anything to eat). I believe the medical position was that heavy drinking harmed the baby, but there was no evidence as to what light drinking did. Anyway I was entirely happy with that - had a small glass of wine many (but not all) evenings, felt very relaxed and never at all guilty. Find the whole "not drinking from moment of conception till after finished breast feeding" a bit scary. DCs both were and continue to be large and extremely perky!

juicychops · 03/05/2005 22:34

I didn't find out i was pregnant until i was bout 10 weeks and just a few days before i found out i had been on a big piss up with my girl friend.

darlingbud · 03/05/2005 22:35

I drank a whole bottle of vodka before I found out I was pg. found out a few weeks later so when I was pissed i was about 2 weeks pg. dd turned out fine though.

jane313 · 03/05/2005 22:36

I didn't drink after I knew I was pregnant because at first the thought made me feel sick then I had bad heartburn so didn't feel like anything acidic. Also am a chronic worrier and it was easier for me not to worry rather than anything else. But a friend told me about becks alcohol free (low?)lager, its much lower than any of the others and tastes ok too. But I drank 1 (ans sometimes 2) glasses a day whilst breastfeeding for a year as the breastfeeding guru at the hospital said it was ok.

darlingbud · 03/05/2005 22:45

I didn't drink at all once I found out either. I too am a born worrier.

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