Found out Pregnant at 14 Weeks

[NervousnScared]

Hi everyone!

I am currently 36 weeks pregnant. Everything has come up normal and there’s no physical concerns.
i found out i was pregnant at 14 weeks and living life as normal, having a few drinks on the weekend and occasionally during the week (nothing crazy wasn’t getting drunk regularly/ever).

And a few times in the summer (not too concerned about that because it was really early) where i was having heavier drinking weekends.

i just am so concerned that I’ve harmed my baby :( and i know no amount is safe. Haven’t had anything since finding out.

any reassurance or people who have been in my shoes that can share their stories?
TIA

Heya ! I don't have first hand experience but some people don't find out until they give birth and apparently the babies are usually fine. In the past people used to drink alcohol in pregnancy as it was safer than unclean water. Only a few decades ago having the occasional drink was seen as okay, and yet most people went on to have healthy babies ! And lots of peope, especially when not TTC, do not find out right away.

Also at that stage real damage is most likely to be an all-or-nothing and either be fine or result in miscarriage.

I sometimes think the whole "no amount is safe" is a scaremongering tactic. Obviously it's better not to but I wouldn't assume very moderate drinking to have an impact. You stopped as soon as you knew. You'll be fine. Talk to your doctor/midwife for further reassurance !

I thought DD1 was a tequila hangover from a spectacularly heavy Xmas party season. I was ad agency working at the time and you partied every night for weeks with clients. Smoking, drinking, dancing, and no sleep.

She’s 11 now and bright as a button. I really wouldn’t worry.

Thank you both for your answers and sharing.
When i first brought it up to my ob and my gp before they didn’t say much and brushed it off it seemed. Which kinda sucks

@Marty13

Heya ! I don't have first hand experience but some people don't find out until they give birth and apparently the babies are usually fine. In the past people used to drink alcohol in pregnancy as it was safer than unclean water. Only a few decades ago having the occasional drink was seen as okay, and yet most people went on to have healthy babies ! And lots of peope, especially when not TTC, do not find out right away.

Also at that stage real damage is most likely to be an all-or-nothing and either be fine or result in miscarriage.

I sometimes think the whole "no amount is safe" is a scaremongering tactic. Obviously it's better not to but I wouldn't assume very moderate drinking to have an impact. You stopped as soon as you knew. You'll be fine. Talk to your doctor/midwife for further reassurance !

Thank you for the reassurance! It’s helpful. I really hope everything is alright, all the scans came back normal and all organs were developed properly thank goodness. I just hope his poor little brain is okay :( and no facial defects. But thank you again

**

Bump

The reason health authorities tell women not to drink at all during pregnancy is because they don’t trust us to know how much we’re drinking or when to stop.

OP have a read of Expecting Better and give yourself a break.

My youngest DD was a complete surprise, and l didn’t know that l was pregnant until l was around 12 weeks. I had a Copper T Coil fitted, we had been on holiday to Spain for a fortnight, and had quite a few Cocktails, lce cold Lagers, and Sangria by the jug!

When l returned home, l started to feel very Tired and Nauseated, so l went to the GP to get checked out in case l had picked up a nasty bug. However, all my tests came back clear, so the Spanish Tum theory was ruled out. I then decided to do a pregnancy test just in case, and was shocked to get a very positive dark blue line!
Not only was l pregnant with a coil still in situ, l had also had enough alcohol in the fortnight l was away to have normally lasted me a full year! My GP was as shocked as l was, she sent me for a Scan, and made me an appointment to have the Coil removed on the same day.
DD 5 was born the following Christmas by C-Section, and l opted to be sterilised at the same time.
She’s a fine healthy Girl now, none the worse for her ordeal of how she came into this world, but the only babies around me now are my Grandchildren!

Bless you, OP! I'm yet to meet a mum who hasn't had that worry at finding out they were pregnant after a few drinking sessions! But please don't feel bad!
My friend was an extremely heavy drinker a few years ago, would drink wine every night, go out on weekends and drink shots, double vodkas, cocktails, she would smoke and everything. She was living a single womans life and loving it. She went into labour one day and had no idea she was pregnant. I remember she was a wreck because her baby came out with all kinds of complications and issues and she kept saying it was from the alcohol. But specialists reassured her it wasn't the case and even heavy drinking is still rare to cause any damage to your baby.
Please don't worry. We've all been there. But once your baby is with you you'll look back at now and laugh. Pregnant anxiety is so much worse than any other anxiety. But you'll be alright. And you're already doing an amazing job to be so worried over something you had absolutely no responsibility in since you didn't know you were pregnant! Relax. We've all looked through Google and seen the "woman has one glass of wine and baby gets FASD" and any decent doctor will tell you it's rubbish. Please don't beat yourself up or worry.