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 did,but at the time I didn't know I was pregnant. It was nearly 36 years ago,in the days that you didn't find out that you were pregnant by the time you were only a few days gone,it was more like a month. I had a girls night in with my best friend when I was probably 2 -3 weeks gone,and drank a whole bottle of Lambrini type fizz. . 2 weeks later I found out I was pregnant,we hadn't been trying,so it was a bit of a shock.Drinking during pregnancy wasn't such an issue back then,but there was some talk about it not being advisable,and I didn't touch a drop for the rest of my pregnancy. My DD was born 8 months later totally healthy.

Yes, only one wine spritzer with DC1 when I was 20 weeks.
With DC2 I was a bit more relaxed, half a lager at about 13 weeks, couple of glasses of wine around 20 weeks (Christmas!) and one koppaberg at about 37 weeks when I'd finished work!
It's down to you, but I felt that the odd few wouldn't do me any harm!

PicaK do you have anything published in English? It’s difficult to understand what that chart is saying.

PicaK it’s still in German though...anything we can understand and then make an informed choice about?

Quite surprised at the amount of people on here saying they had 2 or 3 glasses of wine a week while pregnant, on a regular basis.

My DD is 21, DS is 17 ... after first trimester I had 2 small glasses of red wine a week .. my midwife said that was fine x

HildaZelda why? The reliable studies show there is no effect.

Yes I was drinking lots around the time dc2 was conceived (Xmas/New Year) then had a few small wines through the summer / hen do. He is 4 now and perfectly healthy.
I don’t think it’s a big deal tbh, obviously excessive binge drinking is a different story but I wouldn’t do things any differently.

Hilda, they/I did as its safe to do so.

I'm 26 weeks pregnant and in this pregnancy I've had one glass of wine. I was out with colleagues on a staff night out and had one with a meal, it was LUSH.

I think one every now and again is fine.

PLEASE PLEASE DON'T
I am the mum of an adopted boy and birth mother drank through pregnancy - he has Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder because of it. this means he has suffered PERMANENT BRAIN DAMAGE and his life is a real struggle for him and us (I know he wishes his brain worked properly) and it will be until his dying day.
Alcohol is a teratogen (poison) and is worse than heroin etc and crosses the placenta so your baby gets drunk (even on one glass).
I know the main thing that every expectant mum wants is a healthy baby - alcohol can change that outcome (not only potential brain damage but also potential organ damage to). it is just not worth the risk and isn't 9 months of NO alcohol better than a lifetime of struggles for your bundle of joy

Getting drunk with both dc until about 7 weeks

I had one glass of champers when I was 20 odd weeks pregnant as it was my first anniversary. He is totally healthy.

Yeah with ds2, I had the odd radlers or them little 330ml beers

A glass of wine does not go through the planenta and make the baby drunk. Mumof2boys you must’ve been told your sons mother was a serious alcohol abuser, why are you conflating that situation with someone having a glass of wine?

Yes, the odd glass of wine (much smaller than a pub’s small measure) and at most once a month.

Yes, both times I had a very small amount (half a glass of fizz at weddings, half a glass of wine with Christmas dinner). There is absolutely no evidence that small amounts causes any harm, the guidelines are OTT.

No. I didn't want to risk the pregnancy and no one really knows what alcohol does to the foetus.

No I didn't, and don't understand why anyone would. I stopped drinking anything at all while TTC and haven't drunk since, and it's been 11 years next month.

Any risk is a risk and why anyone would risk the life of their baby is beyond me.

Yes and was advised in nhs antenatal classes to use a glass or two as a pain reliever in labour
This was 11 yeas ago so not that long ago

I’ve had the odd glass of wine and half a shandy which I got evils for
When pregnant
And also got a massive lecture of a waitress for eatting a chocolate soufflé
!!!

It if I was pregnant now
I proably wouldn teven have one glass
As it’s just not worth it

Alcohol is not worse than heroin. Seriously. A heroin addict is not going to have the odd syringe of heroin. Someone having the odd glass of wine is not going to drink a bottle of vodka a day. So much rubbish being spouted here.

You have to drink a hell of a lot to cause fas. And yes I know it's a spectrum.

I had a few glasses a week from 15 weeks with dd2

Drank heavily on several occasions with dd1 (not proud of it).

No. I didn't. It was 9 months out of my life, and nobody really knows if there is a safe amount and what it is. Even people who have drunk very little and think their kid is fine, you don't know what you child would have been like if you hadn't drunk. I just felt that there are so many unknowns, and so many risks in pregnancy that if I could cut down on some of the risks, it was worth doing. It helps that I live in a culture that (contrary to popular belief in the UK) is really, really down on pregnant women drinking alcohol, so no pressure whatsoever.

I guess its personal choice. but knowing the massive difficulties in life that my children endure and the obstacles they have to overcome directly related to alcohol, then it seems stange that anyone would take that risk. Evidience on safe amounts is still very inconclusive to the point where the Chief Medical Officers advice is to not drink at all as they can not prove any amount is safe and it differs from person to person. I sincerely hope anyone who choses to drink goes on to give birth to healthy babies everytime but I sadly know that is not the case.

I think it’s one of those things where if just depends how much you like alcohol. Like anything. For some people giving up unpasteurised cheese is no problem at all- they wouldn’t even think about the stuff. Some people love it and eat it a few times a week and would hugely miss it.

Then you have to think about how realistic risk is, and your own risk appetite. When I saw my community midwife she told me she had a pateient who missed pate so much, as so desperate for it, that she made pate sandwiches to take to the hospital to eat immediately after birth. She thought this was a cute anecdote. All I thought was what kind of dimwit would be that desperate for pate for 10 months and not just eat some?