To think 2 glasses of wine per week won't do any harm?

[Poptart4]

I fully expect to be eaten alive for this post but here we go...

I'm 4 weeks pregnant with my 4th child. With my first 3 pregnancies I didn't touch a drop for 9 months and all dc were perfectly healthy. However I have watched people, friends/acquaintances, binge drink every weekend through out their pregnancies and their children were also perfectly healthy.

To be clear i would never binge drink while pregnant!

But I have been thinking that maybe 2 glasses of wine max on a Friday evening won't do any harm.

What do you think? Anyone else done the same? Did it harm your baby?

Emily Oster's Expecting Better book outlines the research. The evidence suggests that drinking small amounts has no effect. However, I wouldn't necessarily have 2 in one sitting.

Any time I have had the occasional class of wine when pregnant I've felt sick, so there's no guarantee you'll even enjoy it.

Well if you can handle the guilt if your baby is born with something wrong then go for it.

Probably best to not drink at all though. That's the safest way. People can tell you loads of stories about how they drank and the baby was fine, but not all are. Are you OK having one of the ones that are not OK?

Yanbu but wait until second trimester.

I wouldn't have 2 glasses in the same evening. What size are the glasses? I didn't drink at all when pregnant, didn't see the point. Why do you plan to drink 2 glasses of wine a week? I can see why someone might want a glass at a wedding or something but I find it strange that you would plan to drink regularly.

However I have watched people, friends/acquaintances, binge drink every weekend through out their pregnancies and their children were also perfectly healthy.

You know more than one person who binge drank every weekend of their pregnancies? I find this really odd. 2 large glasses of wine could be 6 units which might be considered a binge as it's about half of a non pregnant persons recommended weekly allowance in one day.

as long as that is absolutely it then yeah i agree... but i think they introduced the stricter guidelines because women werent just drinking 2 glasses a week... they would think: well if two is okay then maybe three is fine? is three are fine then maybe 4 are fine? and of course each drink you have makes you more open to having another. So basically they have gone with the advice that it is best to have none at all as for many women it is difficult to moderate themselves.

Now i personally agree with you that a very occassional drink wont do any harm. I have had the odd half pint of cider throughout this pregnancy and i did during my last one too... Not twice a week, more like once a month. But it is a risk. However i think its a risk going into the centre of a city because of the pollution, its a risk taking paracetamol etc.... you just make your own assesment of how much of a risk you feel is acceptable. Drinking a glass of wine once a week is obv much less of a risk than going out on the lash. But it IS a risk none the less.

You could even do drinking games.

Russian roulette maybe?

Fetal alcohol syndrome is a risk
It is absolutely NOT a risk from two glasses of wine a week.

I didn't drink anything in the first trimester. After that, I had one small glass of red wine on a Friday night.

I read the Emily Oster book, weighed up the risk and was happy with my consumption.

When you had your newborn baby would you put even the tiniest most minuscule drop of alcohol in its feed? No?

I also wouldn’t feed it fillet steak and chocolate. Should I not have consumed those in pregnancy either?

Not until week 20 at least according to this

www.nofas-uk.org/documents/2011.331%20NOFAS%20Factsheets%20Generic%20Final.pdf

I knew this thread would split opinions. Thanks for all replies. Just to answer afew questions :

I won't be drinking during the first trimester, I should have stated that in original post.

They would be small glasses not large. To put into context 2 of my small wine glasses would fill 1 large wine glass.

What's the point? Well I'm not someone who has to get drunk every time I drink. It is possible to enjoy a small glass of wine and stop there. If you can't then maybe you have a problem with alcohol.

My understanding was that regular drinking was potentially worse than a one off binge when looki at fatal alcohol syndrome.

If you want someone to say it's 100% safe they clearly can't.

"the 2 glasses probably wouldn't do any harm but it won't get you drunk either so what's the point?"
Do you only drink to get drunk

I didn't see the point as I don't really drink at all to be honest. Find a bath or reading a book nicer and more relaxing than having a drink so didn't see the point in drinking whilst pregnant at all.

Why would you plan to drink every week? That's what I don't really get?

2 Small glasses I doubt would do any harm if you feel you need them to relax I suppose.

I have to say I have never had wine during any pregnancy. What's 9 months in a lifetime? Lots of other non-alcoholic drinks out there to enjoy. Would have tended to give me heartburn anyway. Personally, would save it to after you give birth. Lots of celebrating to be done then.

FAS is very rare, you’re not going to give it to your baby from 2 glasses of wine per week!

‘There is no proven safe level of drinking alcohol in pregnancy. Not drinking at all is the best approach’.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/foetal-alcohol-syndrome/

yes @stealth alcohol tastes foul to me but I like being drunk!

originalfoogirl no I wouldn’t eat fillet steak and chocolate in pregnancy, if they had been proven to cause serious harm to a developing baby, like alcohol has.

I was being hyperbolic to make a point. Everyone seemed to understand that but you.

It will be fine. For millennia women have drunk small amounts of alcohol during pregnancy and the babies have been fine. These government guidelines are a very new thing, sensible women got buy fine before then.

We all know women who didn't realise they were pregnant and drank to excess before they found out and than had a pregnancy full of worry but in every case I have heard of (and there are a lot of them) every one of those babies were perfect. FAS is a terrible thing and it trivialises a genuine problem to think that a glass or two of wine a week is going to cause it. If that were the case nearly every child born in France (where the advice is different) or Italy would have it.

I'm not a big drinker, but I'm always really shocked by people who are prepared to drink alcohol at all during pregnancy.

To give context, I struggled to conceive my son, and it looks like we won't be able to have any more children, so I am quite sensitive about people who appear to be taking unnecessary risks when pregnant.

As a poster up thread has said, the NHS say not to drink so I don't see why anyone would take the risk. I totally understand that sometimes you have a mare of a day, but is one small glass of wine really going to make you feel that much better?

So anyone who doesn't agree must have a drink problem but someone who can't go without regularly consuming alcohol in pregnancy is fine. Okay then

I don’t see a issue with what you are proposing. Everything in moderation....

There is a risk tied to everything, and a lot of people won’t take any risk.

Do you know what, OP? I did have the odd glass and my son was born with learning difficulties and its VERY hard not to blame myself even though I know rationally, that this wasn't my fault.

Don't even put yourself at risk of the guilt. seriously. it's draining and the people around me are sick of reassuring me.

Not drinking alcohol is the safest approach.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/alcohol-facts/health-effects-of-alcohol/fertility-and-pregnancy/alcohol-and-pregnancy/