To ask if you had a drink while pregnant

[secretdoubleagent]

So before anyone judges I'm not talking about going out and getting hammered I am meaning the occassional glass of wine with dinner.

I'm currently pregnant (13 weeks) and just really in the mood for 1 with dinner tonight. I had with my last pregnancy (maybe 3 glasses on different nights throughout the whole time) however it was not until I was much further down the line.

Just wanted to see others opinions really, I know the NHS is strickly zero, however it wasn't that long ago that it was 1 or 2 units once a week.

Yes, 17yrs ago

I had the odd one with both my pregnancies but they were 15-18 years ago!

With DD1 I had a glass of champagne at a wedding at 38 weeks. DD2 I vaguely remember another glass of champagne at a wedding at around 20 weeks. Currently 15 weeks with DC3 and haven’t had any but may have a glass at my dads wedding next month (can you see a theme?!).
You will get lots of people telling you that if you can’t go 40 weeks without a drink then you’ve got a drink problem, though!

Yes I did. I read a Naomi Wolf book about pregnancy and birth (can’t remember the title!) and realised how much of the pregnancy advice given is based around not trusting women to make sensible choices.

I think I had 2 halfs of lager and a glass of wine over the whole pregnancy so not exactly heavy drinking but on the occasions that I really fancied something I had it. I took the same approach to food. It all worked out fine.

I was quite possibly drunk when I conceived. And yes, I had the odd glass of wine, and I recall being reprimanded by a random when I had a half pint of lager shandy in my hand and was visibly pregant. He's 31 now.

I did. Then spent a lot of time worrying about it! I think the later on the better. Just be careful about the units in wine - the units in a large glass of high alcohol wine is 5 or something. I stuck to things like weak gin and tonic or shandy so I felt like I was having a drink while barely having one

Yes

At midnight on Millenium Eve. One glass of champagne.

No - I bought myself non alcoholic wine for christmas dinner (and then FIL kept drinking it ) and had the occasional alcohol free shandy.

If someone gave me food cooked with wine or slightly alcoholic puddings I did eat them though.

Yes I did 20, 18 and 16 years ago and got hammered with all three before I knew I was pregnant

Yes, a glass of wine/fizz once or twice a week throughout my last pregnancy. This time I’m planning on doing the same. Each to their own. Read the evidence and make up your own mind!

I think the reason the advice changed is because (as well as them not being able to test where the safe limit is) it was apparently too complicated a message for some people! People don't have an understanding of how many units in what they're drinking etc or would save up all their units for a special event! So if you actually stick to the advice of 1 - 2 units once or twice a week then it's fine

I did but Ibwas unaware I was 3 months pregnant at the time (long story)

Yep i had the odd glass of red or fizz from about 17 weeks onwards (felt sick until then)
Maybe 2 drinks a month

Oh and the nhs advice has only changed because it was decided that people can’t be trusted to work out what 1-2 units is, so it’s better just to say none at all. I was discussing this with my midwife the other day and she agreed that no new studies had been published and it was probably overkill.

No, not with either of mine. Don’t really understand why anyone would.

I had a few in the tww but none since. I daren't even have a can of coke at the moment after the midwife put the shits up me the other day (ive had a few losses).

Having said that my dm definitely did. A colleague i know definitely did and one of my aunties was in the pub the night she went into labour so im sure a small one wont do any harm.

I had a j20 in a gun glass with ice the other day and it almost felt like i was having a nice alcoholic drink!

Also I bought some low alcohol wine - around 5% and it was quite nice! But I'm not a wine buff so someone with a more refined palate might disagree

I had the occasional small glass, after reading the summary/interpretation of evidence in Emily Oster’s book Expecting Better.

Yes, the odd half glass but I was too sick for the majority of my pregnancies to even consider any alcohol. The zero drinking only came in very recently. It was 1-2 units every few days considered ok when I was pregnant with my 2yr old, 3 yr old and 5yr old.

Yes had a glass of wine probably once or twice a week and did the same on my last pregnancy. The rest of the time I drank non alcoholic beer or sparkling water. I never felt guilty or thought twice about it.

Not knowingly. But my pregnancy was unplanned and during my fourth week of pregnancy I went to visit my cousin at uni and there was a lot of alcohol involved. I got spectacularly drunk twice. Unaware I was pregnant obviously!

No lasting damage was done but I chose not to drink again throughout the rest of the pregnancy due to the guilt.

Yes in all of mine and would do again

Yep, probably averaged a glass of red wine a week. I read the 'expecting better' book and made my own, reasoned choice. I'd do the same if I had another pregnancy

I was regularly quite merry before I realised I was pregnant. I then went off alcohol completely - to the extent that I didn't drink any of the bottle of nice red wine I'd bought myself as a treat for Glastonbury.

Yes. The occasional glass of wine - maybe one a month or so (including one at my sister's wedding when I was about 12 weeks). Every now and then I really fancied it. It was lovely, but I invariably found that one glass was plenty, and most of the time I didn't actually want any.