Drinking in pregnancy

When I was pregnant with my first I developed a nasty cough so went to the chemist and they said medicine i can have is very limited because the guidelines are no alcohol in pregnancy at all.
I dont get the NEED to have a drink when pregnant. Like what is the point of one glass to sip over? Like you say your happy with your OJ.
Non pregnant people are so annoying when you're pregnant 😅.

Probably not, but it can occur with any amount. Why would anyone risk it? I guess its similar to drinking while driving, some people can have half a glass of wine and be over the limit, some can have more.. depends on the person. Personally I wouldn't have half a glass and drive, its just not worth the risk.
I understand people have different views and this is a very hard subject to discuss. But either way is it worth that risk for 1 glass? .. id say no.

I didnt find out until nearly 6 weeks with both of mine. I had been at the football with my friend and got hammered on the friday and found out on the monday. I then didn't touch anything till after she was born.

With my 2nd my bloody craving was beer so I stocked up on alcohol free stuff and enjoyed them.

I do enjoy a drink but stopping was no problem.

I did have caffeine as was full time working with both but nightshift with 2nd. I kept within guidelines and drank caffeine free diet coke most of the time unless I was working.

I got absolutely hammered at the beginning of one of my pregnancies, only one of two times that I have been drunk in my life, but unfortunately I didn't realise I was pregnant. That particular child does have health issues, I've been told lots of times that it wasn't something that would be caused by drinking in pregnancy, but I still have guilt and he's nearly grown up now (and thriving).

I honestly dont think its scaremongering... both my children have foetal alcohol effect, they were normal births, normal weight etc normal children, absolutely beautiful... but i started to see signs when they reached around the age of 4-5 for my son and age 3 for my daughter, they are 17 and 15 now, and its mentally draining for them - educationally my 15 year old really struggles and even worse socially. Emotionally my 17 year old struggles daily, we are lucky his is milder than his sibling, is that to do with how much birth mother drank on each pregnancy ... apparently not, any amount at any stage can cause it.

Im not trying to scare anyone, just being honest about the effect it can have on your children's lives, for that one or 2 glasses .. is it worth a lifetime for them?

I agree. People are bad at judging “stick to one unit” or whatever. So easier to just say have none.

I’m teetotal anyway, so don’t believe this out of a need to defend any drinking I did!

An awful lot of conceptions happen at Christmas/new year or on holidays. Unless you are deliberately not drinking due to planning to get pregnant or otherwise the chances are you will drink in the early stages of pregnancy

Do you think this was the result of drinking a couple of glasses of wine?

Please read attached poster ...

I stopped drinking alcohol when I started ttc dd1, and have been either pg or bfing for most of the past 8 years. Had probably 5 drinks in that time in gaps between, and I don't miss it, and don't see any difficulty in giving it up just for a few months.

I adopted 2 children who we later found out that birth mum had been drinking alcohol and they BOTH have fetal alcohol effect. They are 17 and 15 now and Ive seen the effects it has later on in life for the children. Many babies may come out looking fine, but its mentally that it effects them.

I gave up drinking alcohol completely because it was just simpler than worrying about amounts. I did have a pudding that had alcohol in it. It didn’t even cross my mind when I ordered it or when I was eating it until the man opposite gasped at me in disapproval and asked if I should be eating it. I still feel a mixture of guilt and irritation about that and it was 18 years ago.

I agree with PP’s who said just let people be if it’s a tiny glass of wine. Most women have pethidine in labour which passes to baby, so I can’t get too over excited about an occasional small wine tbh.

When I was pregnamt the recommended amount was 1-2 drinks 1-2 times a week. The teetotal thing was introduced because some women carry on drinking and it’s a simpler message to say don’t drink not because having the off glass is dangerous to the fetus.

I agree with all of this and also had a few small drinks while pregnant. I work in NHS comms and the messaging is black and white because it has to be as simple and unambiguous as possible. The research, as you say is more complex.

Similar to above, coming in regular contact with children and adults affected by FAS of varying levels, this will impact my own choice to not touch alcohol during pregnancy.

This is true of most medical advice!

They have to put out advice that works for women of different heights, weights, medical histories and risk profiles.

Same goes for children's health advice - salt intake, for example. Nothing magic happens at age 1, 5, etc, and the scientific calculated limits aren't all going to sit exactly on the gram. They have to choose a guideline that is easy to understand, and that is safe in the very vast majority of cases, knowing that some people will go a bit over, but not much.

The UK has one of the highest rated of women drinking during pregnancy and FASD is likely significantly under diagnosed or mislabelled as ADHD, attachment concerns etc. Having worked with children in mental health services, I would never take the risk and I appreciate some people do and it works out okay for them, but why take the chance knowing the potential impact?

Didn't drink at all as soon as I found out I was pregnant, and still teetotal 6 months on from having her as we co-sleep. During pregnancy it just isn't worth the risk.

But if you know the odd glass in pregnancy makes no difference why does it matter when it is? I had a small glass of champagne at Christmas when pregnant but I can go weeks without drinking now I've had the baby without any particular reason. Very mild drinking whilst pregnant is just an informed choice not the symptom of a raging addiction

Well I was beyond 3 months pregnant when I found out so I had drunk a lot of alcohol whilst pregnant! I stopped as soon as I knew and was mortified but the midwife said actually the odd drink whilst pregnant won't cause harm but the reason they say nothing is because people will interpret being allowed something as being lots in some cases.
So as much as I didnt drink once I knew I also wouldn't judge someone having a glass of wine at an event

I had half a bottle of Lambrini when I was 9 months pregnant with dd1, and 1 bottle of Stella at 6 months with dd2. Both were fine.

A small amount of alcohol isn't going to harm the baby. Regularly drinking, or heavy drinking, obviously will.

It's not just about the alcohol, is it? It's also not being able to have paracetamol or ibuprofen or decongestants or coffee. And if you wanna be strict, soft cheese and charcuterie and sushi etc etc.

And make no mistake OP - that glass of wine will not be enjoyable for YEARS after you have that baby. You won't regularly sleep 8 hours for at least 6-9 months, if you are extremely lucky, usually more like 12-18 months.

And really you should not have any alcohol in the first 6 months while you are exclusively breastfeeding. Or are you choosing not to breastfeed? Because if not, I hope you're ready for the almighty of judgments if breastfeeding is something you either fail at or choose not to do.

Enjoy one last glass of wine in peace. And try to be less judgmental, for your own sake.

I'm sure a bit is fine but I never did, simply because I didn't feel the burning need to have half a glass of wine with a meal or whatever. Easier just not to. I did break most of the food rules though because many are misconstrued/overstated.

I drank maybe five glasses of wine throughout my pregnancy mostly at events like weddings and birthdays. But my friendship group includes a good few doctors and they all say there’s no issue having the off glass of wine at all. I don’t think about it whether other people do or not 🤷‍♀️