To have one small glass of red wine at 38 weeks pregnant?

Yes, had the same advice. And you're right, they changed it because us silly women can't be trusted to know what a unit is and to stick to only 1 or 2, not because of any evidence that those amounts cause any harm.

Meanwhile the women who drink to excess are still doing it despite the guidelines and are far less likely to ask for help due to the judgement on display here and in real life.

The mother in question is full term though, as was I. There is absolutely no risk of premature birth or impact on growth at this point! Hence why I suppose midwives suggest it. Must be common since there are a few of us mentioning it.

Go for it OP. Your baby is fully formed. I worry why you asked on here though, you know you will get the drama queens, someone mentioned previously about putting a glass of wine in your child's bottle. Enjoy, relax with DP soon you will be so busy. I have a medical qualification if that counts for anything on this mad site ;)

Oster is quite controversial on this point. And she is not a medical professional, she's a data expert. Yes, she has interesting points to make but it's important to remember that she is not a medic and I wouldn't blindly follow her book as a guide.

No. I’m saying it’s odd that midwives advise it, like in said I’m my post. Midwives are told there is no known safe amount of alcohol and to advise pregnant women of this. In their training, they learn that alcohol can cause premature birth, impact growth etc, so even though one glass is unlikely to do any of that, it’s still odd that they would actively tell a woman to drink, rather than just tell her the advice and leave her to make her own mind up. I remember a work colleague saying she had directly asked her midwife whether a glass of wine at a wedding would be ok and she said she’s not allowed to say it is because there is no known safe amount etc.

I wouldn't .

One glass at 38 weeks will not lead to FAS

1 glass of wine is not going to cause FASD. People drink far more whilst the baby is developing and don’t know they are pregnant.
Personally heartburn stopped me even thinking about it. One small glass will be filtered out by your liver.

I was going to recommend Expecting Better too! For the actual science on all this stuff.

When I was pregnant the advice was 1-2 units, 1-2 times a week. I’m happy to be proved wrong but I thought they changed the rules not because there was evidence of harm from small amounts of alchohol. It’s that there are some women who consume problematic amounts of alchohol and it’s clearer messaging to say no booze.

The U.K. guidelines are very risk averse, I think excessively so but that’s possibly just parental guilt as I had the odd glass of wine throughout my pregnancies.

I read expecting better book,

I drank a small glass of wine here or there with all my three pregnancies (perhaps 5 in total each time). All babies done! I tended to have a small glass with a meal.

It’s totally fine. The actual studies show that even a glass a day - crucially, when drunk slowly - doesn’t affect the foetus. Obviously that’s probably not a good idea for most women still! Why risk it. But the very occasional tiny drink… it’s fine. I did.

You’ll be absolutely fine. You’re obviously not going to have much at all, I’m sure it won’t do you or the baby any harm.

I absolutely would

Absolutely fine and responsible to have a glass of wine, if you choose to. I did a lot of research into it to make my own, informed decision. Just FYI it is quite recent that NHS says no alcohol, when I had my 8 year old a small amount was fine and when I had my 5 year old it wasn’t….

This thread is infuriatingly depressing so I’m out.

Emily Oster has been quoted a few times but she's not a doctor, she's an economist.

I came here to say this.

My DD was drugged up to her eyeballs on pethidine when she was delivered!

Enjoy your iced wine OP. But I would watch out, after 9 months without, it might relax you so much that you go into labour tonight!

One glass won’t hurt

I didn’t drink anything when pregnant, but then I hardly drink anyway. I don’t really see the point when you can just wait a couple of weeks

I’m confused. Are you saying that I am lying?

^This - one small glass of wine late in your third trimester is vanishingly unlikely to do any harm.

Although I don’t think this would do any harm, I do wonder why any midwife would advise this. I have 2 midwives in my family and they would never advise a woman to drink in pregnancy and my own midwives (NHS and private) only repeated the general NHS type advice which was it’s not advised. Women are free to choose but it’s odd that midwives are advising it.

My midwife said it was perfectly OK to have a drink or two in later pregnancy. The baby is fully formed and can't be developmentally affected.

Exactly. Happy to take the advice of experts.
Hilariously I cried because she wouldn’t give me a sweep when I was 38 weeks, so brought my fiance to my next appointment and that’s when she suggested the wine. I was due to be induced two days later and she was like, have a glass, at this point it will do baby no harm! I have a lovely healthy, if not energetic!! Five year old.