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, I did and I also ate whatever I wanted.

Asking questons like this on here are always going to result in a variety of answers. We are all of different age groups.

Those of us who gave birth in the 1970s/1980s/early 1990s were told that drinking wasn't a problem. So we did. We were also advised to drink stout/Guinness to help with breastfeeding. By midwives and doctors.

Obviously advice changed in the 2000's. But I can only comment on the advice given in the 1980s. I can 't even look at a can of Guinness without feeling my nipples bleed.....

Yes i craved cloudy apple cider (and alcohol free didnt cut it!). I used to treat myself to a few sips out my partners on a few occasions.

"Drinking even small amounts of alcohol when pregnant seems to have subtle effects on how a baby’s face develops – including the shape of their eyes, nose and lips." - www.newscientist.com/article/2133639-drinking-small-amounts-while-pregnant-may-affect-the-babys-face/
(in reference to the study reported in: Muggli E, Matthews H, Penington A, et al. Association Between Prenatal Alcohol Exposure and Craniofacial Shape of Children at 12 Months of Age. JAMA Pediatr. 2017;171(8):771–780. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2017.0778 )

Your choice, but I can't believe these facial changes are positive based on what full blown fetal alcohol syndrome looks like.

Yes, yes I did.

Yes, after 1st trimester with both children. Never more than 1 glass at a time, prob a couple of times a month.

Yup, half a glass of fizz at a wedding and maybe 2-3 half’s after the 7 month mark. Went off booze completely for the most part. 2nd pregnancy probably had 3-4 glasses wine ( 1 small one at a time!) druig pregnancy. I trusted myself to listen to my body and had healthy pregamnacies and healthy babies .

@YoureMyLobster

But the 'low' exposure in that study was less than 7 units a week. That's not low to me! It's hardly surprising they'd notice very very mild effects that that level.

And lets not forget one of the reasons the NHS says zero alcohol, is that women are bad at knowing exactly what a unit is, and are also very good at under-reporting alcohol consumption. Both of those make it not unlikely that the women drinking 7 units a week were actually drinking quite a bit more than that.

Mmm study ‘seems to’ or you know maybe not at all. Come back with the info when there’s been 10 world wide studies when a few 1000 kids per study then maybe.

Yes go on have a nice glass of cold whatever . It's fine x

I had a half of cider when I was 26 weeks as it was in the middle of a heat wave and I'd craved one since 12 weeks. I got one but only managed couple sips as it immediately set of my bloody heartburn haha surprisingly I now don't fancy one at all now Iv had baby . Strange how our bodies work

I did with both my pregnancies - one glass (125ml - I measured it) of wine a week from the third trimester with my first and from about 21 weeks with my second. I had a prosecco spritzer on Christmas Day when I would have been 15 weeks.

I think the point has been made that people need to properly understand what a unit is and be absolutely realistic about it. I recall a colleague telling me that the advice when she was pregnant was “one glass a day” so she filled her glass to the brim.

As for “why bother”? I have never drunk alcohol to get drunk. I like the taste of wine and once a week I would enjoy sitting with DH and acting like a grown up.

The trotting out of FAS infuriated me on these threads. It is a complex condition which is hard to get a proper diagnosis for. Two mothers I knew drank in excess of 400 units a week for the duration of their pregnancies and their babies were still classes as “possible” FAS. It is as overused and misunderstood as the Romanian orphan study about babies crying in my opinion.

Drinking alcohol is demonised while women are encouraged to eat as much chocolate as they like. I really really wish women were treated like adults and trusted to make sensible decisions

Yes. Maybe a glass of wine or a beer each week.

OP I enjoyed a wineglass of organic cider on a Saturday and Sunday night through most of both of my pregnancies. During pregnancy 1 this was NHS permitted. By pregnancy 2 they had changed it to ‘no alcohol’. However I’m educated and intelligent enough to have examined the science behind this and found there wasn’t any! They only changed the recommendations on the basis that they thought UK women were too stupid to calculate what 1-2 units of alcohol once or twice a week was. I had two healthy pregnancies and am blessed with two happy healthy and intelligent children.

Awwlookatmybabyspider my goodness your post makes you sound rather dim/ignorant.

That study is strangely shit for JAMA. I would have expected better.

"Even low levels of alcohol – such as no more than two drinks on any one occasion, and no more than seven a week."

That's not LOW.

Mind you, it also says:
Halliday says women who have drunk a little when pregnant shouldn’t worry. “At this stage, we have not identified any problems for people to worry about.”

I did, this time 4 years ago I was 6 months pregnant and on two separate occasions I had half a pint whilst in the pub with friends.

I have been with my 2nd pregnancy, one or two small glasses of wine per week (125ml). The taste of alcohol free wine just doesn’t cut it. I totally understand the new NHS guidelines. Zero units is clearly the risk free option but given the fact that for years it was 1-2 units once per week and my grandmothers generation were actually advised to have half a Guinness throughout pregnancy I’m not surprised that many women judge light drinking to be safe.

Yes

Haven't RTFT, but yes I did have the occasional glass of wine through both pregnancies.

The trouble with FAS is twofold, problem drinkers are well-known to under-report their consumed units, particularly in a situation such as pregnancy, and, for obvious reasons it's not possible to perform rigourous testing under controlled conditions as to exactly what level of consumption causes FAS.

I'm firmly of the belief that the advice I was given 12 years ago of 1-2 units, once or twice a week (so a maximum of four units a week), would in no way harm a developing foetus.

Sorry but that JAMA study is crap, the effect is hypothetical and they’re not even sure if it’s long lasting.
FAS is also not caused by very low levels of alcohol. Come on

I accudently got shit faced one xmas before finding out I was PG
These things happen

Nope. Alcohol is a teratogen.

People can’t say that they are ‘educated’ and then state that the placenta effectively filters alcohol. It doesn’t; pretty much nearly the total amount that is in the maternal blood stream goes through to the fetal blood stream. It also takes longer to be cleared cos it hangs around in amniotic fluid and the fetus swallows the amniotic fluid.

There’ll never be studies that can prove low level drinking causes harm because there are too many variables when it comes to intelligence, executive function etc but it’s a neurotoxin substance that causes cellular damage. Each to their own though.

I drank whilst breastfeeding though as the amount of alcohol that gets into the fetal blood stream via milk is neglible.

For those asking if i understand an odd glass doesn't cause full blown fasd - yes, yes i do.
I still say look it up - see what lifelong devastating damage the extreme end of alcohol consumption causes.
I say don't take any advice from anyone (esp midwife, hv and Drs) who doesn't know what fasd is or who denies basic facts like alcohol does go through to the baby.
What i believe most strongly in is informed choice. I drank less than 6 glasses through my entire pregnancy but i'm furious the "absolutely no effect" info i had was wrong. (It's my adopted dc who has fasd and which has raised my awareness.)