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.

I had half ( possibly two thirds occasionally) glasses of prosseco maybe 5 or 6 times. And One alcoholic ice pop at a bbq.

I had a glass of wine at a wedding with DD1 (at 30 weeks) but haven't drunk at all in subsequent pregnancies.

I don't really understand why anyone would, but then drinking isn't really part of our lifestyle. DH probably has 30 pints of beer a year, and I might have a cocktail on holiday. I can see why it'd be harder to give up completely if it's a bigger part of your social life.

I don't go in hot tubs when pregnant either, but I will eat medium rare steak and runny eggs. Again, blue cheese and pate aren't staple parts of our diet so it's not a hardship to avoid them. For me, it's been about critically looking at the guidance I want to ignore, and deciding if the risk is worth it.

Interested in ready the Naomi Wolf book though!

Didn’t have a single drink after finding out I was pregnant in my two pregnancies. I had a tiny sip of wine with DC2 because my father was asking my opinion of an expensive wine he’d received as a gift. But I’m a worrier and didn’t want any reason to add stress.

I also prefer to feel a bit of a buzz when drinking so I’d rather go without completely than have a small glass of wine - if that makes sense!

I had a few lagers (less than 10 in totally over 2 pregnancies) when I was pregnant all I wanted to eat was really hot curry. I tried the low alcohol ones too.

I ate what I liked and didn't follow any of the food guidelines either. I am an intelligent person, I read the research and made my decisions based on the quantitive data available and that's all anyone can do.

No but only because both times I went off it completely and even the tiniest sip gave me shocking heartburn! I wouldn't judge anyone who had the odd glass here and there.

I still say look it up - see what lifelong devastating damage the extreme end of alcohol consumption causes.

Look up the devastating damage caused by the extreme end of paracetamol consumption. It’s all about dose. FGS, if you over consume water it can be fatal. Again, a ridiculous analogy. One glass of wine vs sustained heavy drinking.

There is no convincing evidence that an occasional alcoholic drink causes harm.

Yes, not until a bit further along (20 weeks ish) but that was mainly due to terrible sickness.

After 12 weeks the risks are less and there isn’t any evidence that light drinking is dangerous. The NHS are extreamly cautious because they don’t want to tell you it’s definitely ‘safe’ then find they were wrong. There is also a fair amount of treating you like a child. Assuming that if they say ‘absolutely none’ women will have the odd small drink but if the say it’s fine to have the odd small drink then women will ignore this and go out on the lash ...

Yes, with all four - my youngest is 30 though, the advice then was not to drink heavily

I did drink while pregnant, but I didn't actually know I was pregnant at the time. Come a week later when I did a test and it came out positive, I completely stopped drinking from that very second

Pregnancy is just nine months, it's not like abstaining forever.

It's quite shocking how normal alcohol drinking has become when people can't go without.

No. And I’m a regular drinker when not pregnant. It’s worrying how people can’t abstain for what compared to a lifetime is a short period.

It’s worrying how people can’t abstain for what compared to a lifetime is a short period.

No, people are looking at the evidence and deciding that there’s no need to totally abstain, just seriously limit what you’re drinking.

No I've never drink through my pregnancies. I don't see the point, it's not advised and it's not like you can get drunk. It's a drug. I don't have the odd cigarette or line of coke either, because I'm carrying a child 🙄. You could do any number of things and it probably wouldn't hurt, but for a few months it's not really that hard to just not do it and put the pregnancy first.

No I've never drink through my pregnancies. I don't see the point, it's not advised and it's not like you can get drunk

Most grown ups I know don't drink to get drunk though. That's not the aim.

"It's quite shocking how normal alcohol drinking has become when people can't go without."

It's cultural, like eating meat, or drinking Coffee. Nothing shocking about it, at all. If you were on medication that you couldn't have Dairy with, you would miss it. I went Vegan and I'm not shocked by my obsession about finding a good Vegan Cheese.

Something that you enjoy, you then miss when you have to stop.

I couldn't drink for the last two years, because of illness/medication. I missed Fruit based/white rum cocktails in summer. Wine with special meals. Winter cocktails with Cranberry and spiced alcohol.

OP, I didn't drink when I had my first two. I was lucky to not be pregnant over Christmas. I used to have a Baileys when cooking Christmas dinner. I did have the odd glass of Wine with my last. It amounted to about five glasses, over the pregnancy, from four to seven months. It was 1995 and Wine was less strong.

""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.""

The generation up from me all drank Mackesons stout. It was generally advised for all Adult Women, that and Guinness.

I always look at it fondly in Asda, it reminds me of a lovely neighbours/friend's Mums, when I was growing up, who drank it weekly.

Not touched a drop yet 24 weeks in however have a wedding at 33 weeks will have 1 glass of champers then

"“Went for a mouthful of white wine spritzer and the baby kicked. Couldn't do it went back to lemonade. Not worth the risk”"

And yet, if you don't feel any movement, you are told to drink lemonade/coke, to get the baby to move, again. A glass of low alcohol Wine, would have been better.

It's what you are actually drinking. A lot of the culture of drinking is Alcopops, which contain dangerous chemicals for pregnancy, WKD and the like, also mixers. Which, as said, is why the advice became zero alcohol.

Previous generations, including mine, didn't have these designer drinks, or Women generally didn't drink the high alcohol stuff. Our mixers were 'purer'.

My midwife said they used to take Sweetheart Stout round to the mums on the wards in the evening.

I'm 32 weeks and having half a can of kopparberg - it's mainly ice cubes whilst watching the footy

No I didn't. For a few reasons - not least that when pregnant all alcohol smells like nail varnish remover to me. Also had gestational diabetes so couldn't have drunk anyway. Also not a big drinker so not drinking for those months wasn't really a big deal. I regularly go 6/9 months without drinking and don't notice.
No judgement from me for those who do have the occasional glass though.

Yes, had about 6 drinks over second and third trimester, usually special occasions and small glasses of champagne or wine

Yes. I drank a can if guinness now and then.

Bloody delicious and I don’t care what anyone thinks.

Guiness used to be given to pregnant and nursing mothers for the iron content

My mum was advised to have a half of guinness at least once a week in the 1950s/60s whenever she was pregnant. It's the only time she ever drank alcohol in her life (except for a couple of misjudged Babyshams in 1981)