To have had one small glass of champagne last night (26w pregnant)

[bluemoon2468]

Basically, what I'm trying to establish is how many mums can actually say they didn't have a sip of alcohol during their entire pregnancy?

Last night I celebrated a friend's birthday with a very small glass of champagne, just less than half of a standard size champagne flute. This was my first drink since a couple of weeks before I conceived, aside from a few very occasional sips of other people's drinks here and there (e.g. tasting a cocktail DH made a few weeks ago with a small sip). I have no particular plans to drink again whilst pregnant, but I won't rule out another small drink at some point before I give birth if I fancy it.

I'm pretty comfortable with my decision, but am just wondering whether in reality most mothers engage in the occasional drink in pregnancy or stay strictly tee total?

Yes, I think I probably had an occasional half glass of wine after the 12 week mark.

My husbands family are the type who don't offer you an alcoholic drink if you are pregnant

I've had two halves of guiness so far. Am 28wks.

You're absolutely fine. I had at least a glass a week with mine.

When I had my eldest, at the turn of the century, we were told 1-2 units no more than 1-2 times a week, after the first trimester.
By the time I had #2 they were saying 1-2 units 1-2 times a week throughout pregnancy.
I had my youngest in 2010 when they were just bringing in the "abstain completely" advice.

During my 10 years of childbirth and babies/toddlers, they also changed the weaning advice from 4 months and purees, to 6 months and purees, to 6 months and baby led chunky things. Then my brother had a baby with his wife in France and I found out the foods they avoid, the weaning advice, etc is all completely different.

I have concluded that they make most of it up. Though of course heavy drinking in pregnancy is a terrible idea. The thought that half a champagne flute of bubbly once during pregnancy is terribly risqué is depressingly paternalistic.

Similarly I'm pregnant and spoke to a triage nurse about hay fever treatment and they said there isn't much evidence to show if there are any negative affects on antihistamines and pregnancy because it's 'unethical' to trial it on pregnant women so it's best to avoid if you can, but if you do take the odd tablet it's unlikely to do any harm.

The hospital prescribed Piriton when I was pregnant for hormonal itching (blood tests showed it wasn't OC, but it was unbearable!).

I didn’t drink at all in pregnancy and you don’t need to start a whole thread to feel better about your stupid and selfish decision. Do you really can’t live without alcohol for 9 months?

@NoWordForFluffy that sounds horrible to deal with! Did the Piriton sort it?

@AdriannaP

I didn’t drink at all in pregnancy and you don’t need to start a whole thread to feel better about your stupid and selfish decision. Do you really can’t live without alcohol for 9 months?

In what way was it stupid or selfish?

I didn't drink at all through 4 pregnancies and breastfeeding, and I'm tea total now (medical reasons). Its not a badge of honour though, just a choice. My diet was shocking due to hyperemesis so I 'lose' a good pregnancy' star for that. We're all doing our best and what we think is right at the time - I don't think the odd glass is a big deal at all if its what you want to do.

@Raaaa, yes it did, thankfully. It drove me to distraction for a bit though!

Adrianna, why is having 1 glass of champaign stupid and selfish? It,s not what you choose to do but it,s won,t cause damage in itself either.

@AdriannaP

I didn’t drink at all in pregnancy and you don’t need to start a whole thread to feel better about your stupid and selfish decision. Do you really can’t live without alcohol for 9 months?

It's not the OP who's stupid here! 🤦‍♀️🤔

I very, very rarely drink alcohol normally so obviously I didn't when I was pregnant, but I wouldn't bat an eyelid at a pregnant woman having the occasional small drink.
I am no expert, but a family member of mine is fostering a child who has FAS so I have read what I can on the matter in an attempt to understand it better. From what I have read, the likelihood of a baby having FAS is very low unless the mother is drinking regularly or bingeing heavily. But, there is no clear evidence of a cut off of what is safe and what is unsafe. There is too much individual variation to be able to say X units per week is safe, as there is the potential for some people to be affected at even low levels of consumption. But that isn't common.
Ultimately it is personal choice. They are guidelines not the law after all. Personally I would see a small glass of wine once in a while as very low risk and a reasonable decision and I wouldn't criticise someone who did that. But nor would I see anything unreasonable in choosing not to drinking at all. Heavy drinking is not responsible behaviour, but even then, I imagine there must be mothers who desperately want to stop but struggle so I dont see it as my place to judge. I only know the bare bones of the background of the child I mentioned as obviously I am not a real relative, but what I do know is tragic. I abhor the mother's actions but feel deeply sad and sympathetic towards her for the circumstances that led to them. Life is rarely black and white and the world isn't made up of "perfect" or "evil" mothers.
I suspect our increasingly litigious society has something to do with the development of more proscriptive guidance too. The guideline authors are likely to be very cautious if there is even a small risk of harm below whatever threshold they advise.

I completely stopped drinking alcohol because I just went off it. It tasted disgusting. I thought current guidelines were that the odd glass of wine was OK?

I had precisely 2 units worth of very nice red wine every Saturday night from week 20ish in both pregnancies. I looked forward to it all week, and both my midwife and obstetrician were happy that this was reasonable and sensible.

I cannot STAND holier than thou pregnancy types!!!

@ChipsyChopsy

Yes, I think I probably had an occasional half glass of wine after the 12 week mark.

My husbands family are the type who don't offer you an alcoholic drink if you are pregnant

What's wrong with not offering an alcoholic drink to a pregnant person?

What's wrong with not offering an alcoholic drink to a pregnant person?

It's up to the pregnant woman to choose if she drinks, not the person offering the drinks round.

I think the guidance is not to exceed 4 units per week while pregnant. It was half a glass, so wouldn't exceed 4 units, and it's not frequent so I'm sure you'll be fine.

My mum constantly slugged back glasses of red wine while she was pregnant with me and I turned out just fine (I think).

I got trollied before I knew I was pregnant, and felt so incredibly guilty and anxious that I didn’t drink again for the rest of my pregnancy. But that was just the guilt talking - if I have another one I will definitely allow myself the odd drink after 12 weeks.

I'm not sure why some posters are all 'good on you OP', it's not really worthy of judgement or congratulations IMO.

I think it’s to counteract the ‘women who drink in pregnancy are vile and selfish’ narrative we’ve seen from some posters. I believe it is a criminal offence in some countries, despite the lack of evidence as to what level of alcohol consumption causes harm. It’s pure misogyny.

I always wonder if women who take the ‘you’re vile and selfish’ view about drinking alcohol also never drove in pregnancy, didn’t paint in pregnancy or use any cleaning chemicals, didn't use moisturiser, shower gels, sunscreen, make up or perfumes, didn’t cook with non-stick frying pans, didn’t drive in new cars, sleep on new mattresses or sit on new sofas, tested all their meat with a meat thermometer, didn’t do any gardening, only ate organic meat and vegetables and avoided anything that had been sprayed with pesticides and anywhere where pesticides might have been sprayed, didn’t drink more than 200mg of caffeine a day and didn’t touch any fizzy drinks, particularly diet ones. They seem to get particularly upset about alcohol for some reason.

Do you really can’t live without alcohol for 9 months?

You could say that about loads of things though. Chocolate, cake, bacon cheeseburgers, takeaways, ready meals. None of them brilliant if a constant, but fine as a once off. Same as a glass of fizz.

We do much more dangerous things as a matter of course. Travelling by car for one.

NHS advice about alcohol in pregnancy changes regularly. When I had my first (8 years ago), the advice was 1-2 units, once or twice a week. Some weeks I’d have my two units, twice a week, some weeks I’d have none.
2 years later during my second pregnancy, the advice was non at all. So I had one glass once or twice, but nothing regular.
There is zero difference between my children even though my alcohol consumption was quite different.

I’m one of the few people I know who didn’t have a drink either time. However, that’s my choice and if others chose different, that’s for them. As has been said an occasional small glass is fine based on current evidence. I just didn’t want to.

I didn’t touch a drop of alcohol in either of my pregnancies, I wouldn’t have been comfortable with it.
What other women do during pregnancy is up to them.

I didn’t personally, but I’m not a keen drinker anyway, mostly because I don’t like the taste, so I didn’t miss it. Wouldn’t bother me if others did though. I wouldn’t judge anyone for it!

I had a couple of drinks every week throughout my pregnancies. Absolutely fine.