To not risk drinking any alcohol even before I can find out if I’m pregnant?

[Reedshoes]

Or is it a bit OTT?

Trying for a baby and would be due on my period in a week so next Friday. So if I was pregnant right now, it would be very early on.

A friends having a BBQ so we’re going (socially distancing of course) and she asked what I’d like to drink so I explained the situation and I’ll stick to soft drinks and she made a joke that I was being totally OTT as I may not even be pregnant yet.

I might not be....but I might!

She said a couple of glasses a wine will be fine. I see her point but wanted other opinions as to whether I’m being OTT?

YANBU and you’re not being OTT. You’re putting the health of a potential baby first and that’s far more important than drinking. That makes you a good mother.

I'm guessing you're relatively new to TTC? There's no way I could have not had alcohol during the TWW for the many years it took us to conceive and, honestly, there's no point abstaining unless you want to of course. At this stage, the baby doesn't receive anything from you so alcohol won't affect it at all.

@mynameiscalypso

What does TWW mean please calypso? 🙈

I wouldn’t not drink the whole time just I suppose the 3/4 days after I’ve ovulated. I suppose I’ll do a test next Friday and if it’s a no then I’ll whip the wine out and drown my sorrows 😂

Thanks @heartsonacake 😊

I think a drink now if fine.

I found out I was pregnant after a night out where I may have drank more than usual, it was when hangover didnt go that I did a pregnancy test, just thought the morning sickness was the longest hangover in the world!

As PP says, this will drive you made if it takes you years ttc. Plus there is no placenta connected to the baby at this stage, so any alcohol would not pass through to the foetus even if you were pregnant. Theres no risk so why restrict yourself?

I didn't touch a drop on the TWW, actually from ovulation. I've suffered four mc and the only way I can cope is to know it's absolutely not my fault, so follow the guidelines to the letter.
I envy people that are relaxed enough to not worry.

I drank a bottle of wine and had soft cheeses the night before I found out I was pregnant. He's 13 now. Relax and enjoy yourself. Your life will change completely later.

I mean if I found out I was pregnant then I wouldn’t drink again until I had baby. I mean I wouldn’t ‘not drink’ whilst in the weeks of trying to conceive if that makes sense.

I’d say it’s OTT to not drink in the TWW but this is MN where one shandy at Christmas makes you a ranging alcoholic so you won’t get a fair or balanced view on here. Everyone will tell you you’re being reasonable not to drink when you’re not pregnant yet...

Entirely up to you. I maybe wouldn't get absolutely off your face but a glass or two probably wouldn't hurt any. I decided to stop drinking as soon as we were trying but I didn't drink much before anyway so it wasn't particularly difficult. Also we were blessed to get pregnant straight away so it was easy enough; like a previous poster said, if it takes months or years to conceive it's not necessary to never touch a drop in all that time.

A couple of glasses of wine would be fine to be honest but I get it.
When I fell pregnant with my first, it was the first month trying and I'd assumed I ovulated around day 15 when DH was away, so I poured myself a large glass of gin around the time my period was due assuming I was out that month anyway. Something made me pause and I thought....hmmmm.....I guess there's always a chance I could be.....so I nipped upstairs and hey presto! BFP! I gave the gin to DH when I announced the news! Turns out I ovulate on day 18/19 and amazingly I'd caught the first time. So you never know, and as you say, you could test beforehand and then have a glass of wine if it's negative.

TWW = Two Week Wait (ie the time between ovulation and your period/a positive test).

Like many others, I also found out I was pregnant after a particularly heavy night out. I thought morning sickness was just an extended hangover (it was over Christmas). I also had the odd glass of wine during my pregnancy. DS is perfect.

We did TTC for over a year. I didn’t get plastered but did drink even between the fertile window and expected arrival of period.

It is up to you but I think there are worse things than a glass of wine. I also still ate unpasteurised cheese and ham and salami. Enjoyed it as long as possible because 9 months of no Parma ham was bad.

Well that’s it. Part of me thinks there’s no placenta but then when I read up on it I was like best not... then I think I might not even be pregnant- probably won’t be.

I suppose this lockdown has made it difficult so a couple of glasses of wine would be nice...

Alcohol makes no difference until there is a placenta, around 5 weeks.
I didn’t touch a drop after my BFP at 4 weeks but before that I carried on as usual.

Getting shit faced also increases your odds of conceiving in my experience.

Just don't drink if you don't want to. It's not anyone else's decision but yours. Use driving as an excuse if you want to shut them up, although even that doesn't sometimes.

Some people's reactions to not drinking is just worrying sometimes.

I’m in the same scenario OP, I don’t drink much anyway so abstaining isn’t difficult for me but I’ve been thinking about limiting caffeine. It could take months though and I need to function (WFH with toddler) so I’ve made peace with the fact that until I’ve got a positive test I’ll drink caffeine and potentially a small glass of wine if needed. With my first I got pregnant on my honeymoon, so I didn’t limit anything but it was on my mind that I could be pregnant so I think I naturally reduced my alcohol intake a bit. Sorry a bit of a rambling response. TWW is hard. Wishing you the best of luck

@Megan2018 That's also been my experience with regards to conceiving 😂

Ah I see, Two Week Wait- thank for clearing it up

There's zero risk to the foetus, as you don't actually share a blood supply till 5 and a half weeks or thereabouts. Alcohol and male infertility are linked, but there's no known link between alcohol and female infertility or harm to a baby in the 2WW. I've been through 7 rounds of IVF, about to go for my 8th - not a single consultant has said to stop drinking before a positive pregnancy test, although I must admit I haven't cause infertility can you make you crazy like that.

However, you do you. If it makes you feel like you're "doing something" to help then that's fine. Nobody needs to drink, it'll be fine whatever you do.

If that's what you want to do the fine. It's up to you.

I have had 3 fresh cycles of IVF and 2 frozen, I wouldn't touch a drop of alcohol or caffine for 3 months leading up to a fresh cycle and for a month leading up to a frozen. I have alot of heart ache when it comes to both trying to conceive and during pregnancy and I like to make sure that there is zero possibility of failure to conceive, miscarriage or fetal abnormality being due to anything I have done. You don't need to drink to have a good time.

Sounds sensible. It's exactly what I did. I didn't see the reason why I should take the risk.

Do what feels right for you but it does seem a bit OTT. As others have pointed out the chances of doing damage to the foetus are zero at this stage.

Also without wanting to sound cynical you may be TTC for a while: I would cut yourself some slack now while you can.

Alcohol makes no difference until there is a placenta, around 5 weeks.

This.

Also, I avoided drinking during the TWW when first trying to conceive DS2. But conceiving him took almost a year, so that didn’t last.

I wouldn’t worry too much. The month I actually conceived DS2 I got trashed (to a degree that I never do) about 12 days PO. You can do everything ‘right’ and it makes no difference