How did you manage to not drink during pregnancy?

[enkelt2]

Just that, really. I've never been pregnant. Out of all the things pregnant women do for their children, the one thing that impresses me the most is that they can manage to not drink! For such a long time!

I'm not an alcoholic but just cannot fathom not being able to get a beer or two every couple of days, whenever I want.

So for people who used to drink regularly before your pregnancy, do you just... go cold turkey out of sheer will power?? Or did pregnancy make you alcohol-adverse?

Genuinely curious.

I'm not dependant on alcohol, so it wasn't really an issue.

I didn't TTC until I was ready. I'd done the drinking / nights out / travel / single life / etc., and was ready to move on to the next stage of my life.
Believe us, giving up alcohol whilst you are TTC and pregnant is a very small part of what changes when you are ready to become a parent.

How old are you @enkelt2 ?

Sadly not everyone does. But for most it's just the logic and instinct to do right by the little life growing away, some of the first sacrifices for want of a better word for your child. Like a PP said it's good practise for all the time coming you put your kids first and yourself second.

Unless addicted to alcohol it’s an obvious choice. I didn’t even want to take paracetamol when I had the flu which was miserable and probably taking it too far.

i did of course miss the occasional drink especially at a wedding or something, but then it also reset my drinking which is now healthier and less expensive!

if you are thinking like this, maybe it would be helpful to look at your relationship with alcohol more generally?

Simple, they think it's worth it.

I'm just not an alcoholic? Alcohol is a nice treat but not something I can't go without.

You have to put yourself first sometimes, too :) you need to look after yourself to keep yourself right for baby.

Could’ve written your post nearly word for word! I also had my kids “later” after a misspent youth and I think because of that I was ready to hold them at the centre and I didn’t feel I was making sacrifices having already lived life to the full! I notice how some younger parents get their shit together at a much younger age and are great parents; I’m really pleased I didn’t become a parent in my 20s when I was very much a child myself!

We are adopters and adopter friends of ours embraced a sibling group of five, all of which have fetal alcohol spectrum disorder to one degree or another.

Watching their experience has put me truly in horror as to what one woman repeatedly did to her unborn babies, and equally in awe as to what another woman has repeatedly done for them, at the sacrifice of her and her DH's MH.

Just don't.

You literally don't, and this myth has no benefits. By most research, FASD is as common to about twice as common as autism in the UK population, but the idea it only happens if the mother gets that drunk means people assume it far more rare than it actually is.

The properties of alcohol means it very easily diffuses from the maternal bloodstream to the baby through the placenta, and while we can metabolise alcohol, the unborn at any stage of development cannot. This means that a fetus can have a higher level of blood alcohol compared to the mother for an extended period of time and the only way the alcohol leaves the fetus is for it to diffuse back through the placenta for the mother to metabolise. This is why it has such a potential to wreck havok on development, leading to a lifetime disability.

It was annoying, for sure. I very much did crave an occasional glass of wine or cocktail. Not at home, just socials were hard. People are SO ANNOYING when they're tipsy and you're sober. And I hate sweet drinks, I can't drink Sprite all evening.

So I ended up always cutting nights out short and going home. You lose "friends" along the way but then again you lose even.more.once the baby is here.

Early twenties me with a child would've been an absolute liability!!

Before my first child I binge drank once a week, going out with friends. Never really drank through the week except a few at a pub quiz. I smoked too. It was easy to give up because i literally felt like I didn't have a choice.

I breastfed my DD until I was around 10 weeks pregnant with this baby so never really started drinking again except the odd occasion (my hen do/birthday) where DD could have pumped milk.

Don't miss any of it!

Both pregnancies I craved wine and gin! it was sooooo hard and I’m defo not an alcoholic but love a glass of wine once or twice a week. I tried the non alcoholic with my first (6 now) and they were just awful. With my second I didn’t bother. As soon as they were both born the day I got home I got some rose 🤣

When you breastfeed not pregnant obviously 🙄

Also, it's not just 9 months. You can't have more than one glass of wine when breastfeeding so really it's more like 18 months, at least.

Actually that's incorrect. You can have 2 or 3 when breastfeeding. You have to literally have alcohol poisoning for it to get through the milk

It's just knowing that you did everything you could to have a healthy pregnancy and baby. That if something does go wrong, you won't always be thinking "If only I hadn't..." but you'll know that you did everything within your control, and anything bad that happens isn't because of something you did, it's something outside your control. Out of a whole lifetime, it's really not much (unless you're going to have loads of babies!)

I had A LOT of AF beer! I did try some AF wine, but it was rank, so I stuck to the beer.
It made me feel somewhat "normal" but havinh actual alcoholic drinks never even crossed my mind!

I was straight back on the wine after she was born, though! (didnt breastfeed)

Struggled more while trying to conceive. Wasn't really an issue once I did. Greater good and all that. Plus you are naturally shattered for the first 1-4 months so as soon as you know I think your brain kicks in with tired and pregnant, I'm done now.

In 8-10 months I was more relaxed. I'd have the odd glass of red. But quickly learned that cheaper wine of any colour but especially white meant horrible heartburn. So it was a decent glass of red with a really nice meal and that was it. No dessert, rich sugary food had the same effect.

Trust me, my friends and colleagues knew almost immediately I started to back off in a fairly hard drinking City business culture.

The thought of looking at my child’s face knowing they fetal alcohol syndrome would be my fault was enough to stop me.

'm not an alcoholic but just cannot fathom not being able to get a beer or two every couple of days, whenever I want.

If you really can't imagine or think you can't go a couple of days without a drink - then you do have issues with Alcohol/an alcoholic

I just didn't care tbh. I've still not drank 6 months post partum.

The only time I missed it was when I couldn't go on a bender for my 30th birthday!

Oh, I didn't expect some of the comments. I'm not dependent on alcohol, I'm just thinking about all the things I love that I'd have to give up IF I got pregnant (beer is the most obvious one, but coffee and sashima are close seconds).

But just imagine, men would not even have to think about this, so they'd never be questioned if they were alcoholic--on the basis of thinking about a hypothetical scenario! I just relish my rewind time and the potential to drink whenever I like.

Appreciate all your inputs.

It was easy to give up as I felt so sick - idea made my stomach turn.

But I can easily go without when not pregnant too. If you find the idea so hard maybe you need to think a bit about that and whether you are a little dependent.

I was so sick for most of my pregnancy that I had no interest in alcohol at all. Hormones are amazing things... they make you do what your body needs to do, or not do in this case!