To ask if you drank alcohol during pregnancy

[Butterflyflower1234]

I'm curious as to people thoughts on alcohol during pregnancy?

I was always of the opinion that I wouldn't touch a single drop of alcohol during pregnancy but now I'm wondering would it be significantly harmful to have say one small glass of wine with dinner every so often (less than once a fortnight).

If you’d said that, no problem. I’m pretty sure you said you took ‘no risks’ though, which is rather different

Our interpretation of risk is clearly different. Breathing by your definition is a risk as is walking! Alcohol is a totally different and well understood risk explained by medical professionals.

Exposure to chemicals in cleaning products is also a risk that we take that no one seems to worry about.

On Dd1 the weekend she was conceived I was drunk the entire weekend and was out 2 weeks later at another function very tipsy but once pregnancy confirmed I had a glass of bucks fizz at best friends wedding to toast and never touched a drop after.On Dd2 I didn't touch a drop.
Both have asd and physical issues but at least I know it's not through anything I did.

A local woman I know who drank like a fish through her pregnancy even after losing custody of 2 other children lost her child to stillbirth and had the cheek to say it was the hospitals fault even though she was in the pub I worked at every weekend while she was pregnant drinking pints of lager,double vodkas etc plus smoking,makes my blood boil.(my boss would have to serve her cos I refused on principle,my bosses stance was legally she had a right too)

Alcohol is a totally different and well understood risk explained by medical professionals.

Driving is also a very well understood risk.

Much more evidence for its danger than very occasional alcohol.

Yet it’s one that you’ve just decided to discount for some reason.

The denial of the risk from car journeys is quite something to behold.

First pregnancy the odd glass here and there, maybe 5 or 6 over nine months. Second I didn't bother party because guidelines had changed but really because I wasn't that bothered. And I love a drink usually. I suppose I just didn't think it was worth it for one drink. That said, the odd glass did no harm whatsoever to the first.

The denial of the risk from car journeys is quite something to behold.

I agree it’s bizarre. It goes far beyond this topic though.

One measured (125ml) glass per week

thing is I needed to get in a car to get to the hospital to get to appointments as I needed growth scans etc. that were very important to my daughters development. I couldn't walk as I lived 20 minutes ago. I dont think that is comparable to having ana alcoholic drink that I didnt need. i needed to get to hospital

away*

This is why posters are talking about inessential car journeys. Those are a risk taken simply because the mother wants to.

I didn't, but then I don't drink anyway so why would I.

There is no real evidence because no pregnant woman would want to take part in the research and risk it!

Alcohol isn't good for ANYONE regardless of the amount let alone to your baby plus think about the calories! I did a study on it for 6 weeks when I was in college, most women who have baby's with FAS are not alcoholics and just liked a regular glass of wine with their evening meal!

I did a study on it for 6 weeks when I was in college, most women who have baby's with FAS are not alcoholics and just liked a regular glass of wine with their evening meal

Can I just say, bollocks. Utter bollocks.

but when is drinking alcohol in pregnancy essential if you are trying to directly compare?

Not sure if you've read the thread, but the regular glass of wine with the evening meal you describe could very well exceed the maximum recommended limits even for women who aren't pregnant. I'm teetotal too and honestly, the way people think actually quite high levels of drinking like the one you describe here with genuinely occasional consumption is baffling.

@flower1994 travel to the hospital by car was essential in your case (and that of many others I suspect). So is travel eg to work.

Travel to the shops or the the cinema or to visit friends or relatives is not essential. That’s where the comparison lies.

Yes, all 4 pregnancies - not to excess, just normal social drinking on an evening out

Exactly the point flower, drinking in pregnancy isn't essential. Like nonessential car travel isn't either. That's the comparison, they're two things a woman does because she wants to.

I drink when I'm not pregnant.
I will have a drink when I'm nursing.
I would NEVER drink whilst knowingly pregnant.

Read the research. Understand the science. Be informed.

I had very little but did have a glass of wine here or there and a baileys at Christmas. I never got drunk.

MarchDaffs I think that's a comparison people who drink say to make themselves feel better - by that logic people shouldnt leave the house because they might non essentially cross the road and get hit by a bus

Guess again then, I'm teetotal. And I travelled inessentially during pregnancy. It's possible to be a non drinker and also recognise the hopping great double standards and denial on display from people who have all kinds of special reasons why some avoidable risks are more ok than others.

I'm not aiming that specifically at you, just at the argument in general

It's bloody daft comparing alcohol to travelling in a car. One of the last organs to develop is the liver. Alcohol crosses the placenta freely and enters the baby's blood. If you wouldn't give a baby a sip of alcohol then why on earth would you drink in pregnancy? It's the same thing. It really is. If you're drinking your baby is drinking.

Yup I did. Not loads and not often. I think guidelines are too difficult to set and so "no alcohol" is just easier to say..