To be disappointed in hearing that many UK woman drink during pregnancy [shock]

[Leati]

Yesterday, I was on a thread when some of the women started questioning about US policy on drinking alcohol during pregnancies. One of the women had heard that if you have a glass of wine, you could be arrested. I assured her that wasn't true but there was chance that if you were visibly pregnant that the restaurant or bar might exercise their right to refuse service. And if a pediatrician became suspicious of drug or alcohol abuse, they could have the baby?s blood tested at birth. If the baby is found to have these in their blood, the child will be taken away. Another woman pitched that she found it disturbing that restaurants had signs warning pregnant women.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. These women seemed to believe it was actually okay to drink during their pregnancies. Hadn't they heard of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. So today, I did a little research and was shocked to learn that it is a big problem in the UK and that there is little education about it there.

Women who are angry over mothers choosing the bottle over nursing are damaging their children by drinking alcohol. This is not minor damage, in some case it is equivalent to severe mental retardation and in others it less obvious cognitive problems. Overall nearly 10% of babies born in the UK are suffering from some sort of cognitive problems directly related to alcohol exposure in the womb.

What broke my heart the most is that I have been on this site and I know that the mothers on this site care so much for their children. That while I may not always agree with everything said and our perspectives are not always the same, that we share a common love for our children. So I felt compelled to start this thread and share the information. I hope that you will share it, with your loved ones and it may spread.

I have attached some sites so you can research this yourself. These sites are both from the UK and the US.

www.fasaware.co.uk/

www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/west/series2/fetal_alcohol_syndro mfaspregnancydrinkinglearning_difficulties.shtml

www.healthychildrenproject.org/glossa ry/

Leati
have you read and understood ANY of the posters here who are trying to make you see that hectoring and lecturing isn't working.

I respect your views but i simply don't agree with you. Is that impossible for you to comprehend ?
Its not because i refuse to give up drink ( i did for one of my pregnancies) it is not wilful. I have read what you posted and I simply don't agree.

Right, if no one else is going to say it, I am...

TRIP TRAP

lol @ bill

A mother?s alcohol use during pregnancy is one of the top preventable causes of birth defects and developmental disabilities. There is no known amount of alcohol that is safe to drink while pregnant. There is no time during pregnancy when it is safe to drink. When a pregnant woman drinks alcohol, her baby does too.
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Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can cause many birth defects and developmental disabilities. These are known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs), and include fetal alcohol syndrome.
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FASDs can cause problems in how a person looks, grows, thinks, and acts. FASDs can also cause birth defects of the heart, brain, and other major organs.

Thank you for provoking a debate, Leati, but you are simply not listening to us. We don't want you quoting things at us and I'm getting really bored...leaving the thread..

Haven't read any of the replies, sorry (time issue!).
I gave up drinkig in my first and most of my second trimester. I had probably 3-5 glasses of red wine a week in my last trimester. I would do the same again.

I think you would get a better response if you kept away from the descriptions of severe cases of FAS. They are caused by heavy drinking, and no one person on this thread had said that they did this, or that they thought it was acceptable. No one is denying the link between heavy drinking and foetal damage.

You would be better off concentrating on the 'grey area' of a few units a week. Where there is no undisputed evidence for or against risk. And asking people if they are prepared to accept a possible risk to their child. Because that is what we are talking about here.

Talk of severe FAS is pointless on here. We know the risks. If you want to educate and stimulate debate you need to know your audience.

And lose the hectoring tone...

Alcohol can harm a baby at any time during pregnancy. It can cause problems in the early weeks of pregnancy, before a woman even knows she is pregnant.
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The good news is that FASDs are 100% preventable?if a woman does not drink alcohol while she is pregnant.
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Health professionals should ask all of their female patients of childbearing age about alcohol use. They should tell women about the risks of using alcohol during pregnancy and advise them not to drink alcohol during pregnancy.

www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/factsheets/FAS_alcoholuse.pdf

And why are you have this debate with us at 2:00 in the morning your time? Haven't you got a job to go to in the morning?

"I am trying to show you that there is plenty of evidence that show that alcohol (even in small amounts) caused damage to unborn babies. "

No! There is NO evidence for this only doctors opinion. This is not the same thing. Please no more quotes!

Didn't the deputy chief medical officer in the uk revise the guidelines quite recently?

I think the issue is that the effects of moderate levels of alcohol are unclear, not dangerous, harmful or toxic...unclear.

I would speculate that pregnant women are at more risk from toxins in the environment, car fumes, pollution etc...than from having a couple of glasses of wine a week.

Is there a fetal effect with low to moderate alcohol use before or during pregnancy?

I Walpole, S Zubrick and J Pontre
University Department of Paediatrics, Princess Margaret Hospital for Children, Perth, Western Australia.

STUDY OBJECTIVE--The aim was to investigate the effect of low or moderate alcohol consumption upon fetal outcome.

DESIGN--This was a prospective randomised cohort study with mother and infant follow-up sample stratified on level of maternal alcohol intake.

SETTING--A large maternity hospital in Western Australia.

PARTICIPANTS--2002 randomly selected pregnant women were recruited over a 3 year period for questionnaire survey (19 mothers refused participation). From 665 women in a stratified subsample selected on the basis of prepregnancy alcohol consumption, 605 newborns were available for study.

INVESTIGATION AND MAIN RESULTS--All 2002 women completed a comprehensive questionnaire on demographic, lifestyle (including diet), health, and obstetric factors. Of the 665 mothers who were followed through pregnancy, 605 liveborns were available at birth for measurement and detailed clinical evaluation. Low to moderate prepregnancy maternal alcohol intake was not associated with any untoward effect upon weight, length, head circumference at birth, or clinical well-being as indicated by Apgar score, respiratory distress syndrome, and overall clinical state. Other factors, particularly nicotine, were of much greater importance.

CONCLUSIONS--This study fails to show any significant relationship between low to moderate prepregnancy maternal alcohol intake and newborn clinical status. The outcome suggests that cautionary advice to pregnant women warning that any alcohol taken during pregnancy is potentially harmful to the fetus is inaccurate and therefore probably counterproductive.

And actually engage in debate - stop the bloody cut and pastes...

not read posts, but in answer to thread title....YES u are being unreasonable

Leati i don't think you are going to bring anyone around to your position with this barrage of quotes.

I drank a small amount occasionally whilst pregnant. I will most likely do so next time around. As far as I am concerned the available evidence suggests that this is safe.

Hello Cat. Don't bother with this thread. Leati is quoting studies and statistics and not listening to anyone else. It is tedious in the extreme.

and in case you haven't noticed, telling people not to do something when the evidence is not there just sets their backs up! I think it's extremely counter-productive.

(pssst . whispers ) I think she has lost it people. I have an image of fingers in the ears and singing lalalalall...

( pssst .....whispers even more quietly. )this is very like a conversation with my son. He just keeps repeating the same thing over and over and gets louder until he gets what he wants. he is getting therapy for it though.

I think I need to leave. Apparently beating your head until it is bloody on th ekeyboard is the second highest cause of mental retardation in this country

I am a troll, fol-de-rol?

"Overall nearly 10% of babies born in the UK are suffering from some sort of cognitive problems directly related to alcohol exposure in the womb."

This is from your first post. Could you point me to the source please? I can't wade through all your cut and pastes again.

leati have you been drinking?

meandmyflyingmachine

The problem is I have provided article about risks to even minor drinking

www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/13332.php

www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/14332_1170.asp

alcoholism.about.com/cs/preg/a/aa070997.htm

lol @ broken record

do you think she is a machine?

mines a large glass of pinot noir

or a pimms

no enid she's pissed