Few sips of red wine when pregnant?

[ShutUpAlex]

Did anybody have small amounts of wine when pregnant? I know a lot of people have one small glass a week, but I have found that 3 or 4 sips of red wine in the evening makes my morning sickness just completely vanish! However, those sips added up each day (or at least until the morning sickness is gone) may add up more than what I think.

Would I be u reasonable to do this?
Did anyone else find this helped? I’ve tried sickness bands, ginger everything etc but can’t shift the nausea.

There’s some fucking sanctimonious bullshit on here

Yep

Of course it will be fine. It’s probably just a coincidence that it worked but I suppose that lots of reflux drugs contain alcohol so there might be something in it. Maybe it settles your stomach. I’m always amazed on MN at all the people who get prescribed drugs for ‘normal’ morning sickness/nausea. Out of all the women I’ve known including me who have suffered no one has been offered prescription drugs, unless they literally couldn’t keep water down and then they didn’t really help much. I was sick every day for about 5 months.

I work in the assessment and diagnosis of FASD. Unfortunately there is so much misunderstanding about the harmful effects of alcohol during pregnancy. Actually alcohol is the most teratogenic substance to a developing baby, over all other recreational drugs such as heroin, cocaine, and so on. There is no safe amount of alcohol to drink during pregnancy, and I have seen children presenting with FASD from very minimal amounts of alcohol exposure. Therefore the only way to remove the risk of harm is to not drink at all.

@ShutUpAlex my DP kept reminding me that were the ones actually growing the new human so lots going on behind the scenes, he just had sex . I hope it passes quickly for you, glad you’ve got a supportive DP there with you.

@SmidgenofaPigeon such a sensible comment; I agree almost entirely, but maybe I’m biased, I drink 0.9% Sainsbury’s cider once a week and don’t reduce caffeine intake oopsy.

and I have seen children presenting with FASD from very minimal amounts of alcohol exposure

You have seen children presenting who's parents don't admit to anything other than minimal amounts. That's not at all the same thing.

Again, how come my entire generation (born in the 50s to women who drank alcohol throughout pregnancy, and were even encouraged to) even exists, never mind being physically and cognitively whole and healthy?

@swimlittlefishy

and I have seen children presenting with FASD from very minimal amounts of alcohol exposure

You have seen children presenting who's parents don't admit to anything other than minimal amounts. That's not at all the same thing.

Ah yes - that is what I was trying to say a few pages back. It’s almost impossible to monitor isn’t it because when we’re all alone in our own homes without the eyes of the morally perfect mumsnetters watching we can and do what ever we like, what we then say years down the line when DC has delay issues or memory problem or what ever other outcome of FAS there is I can’t see parents going.. ‘oh yeah I smashed a bottle of wine every night’. It’s just not going to happen.

To those saying you can't know the damage it causes until later, I drank a small amount in all 3 of my pregnancies. My first child was unplanned and we had spent a very boozy weekend with friends at about the time I conceived him. I was about 7 weeks by the time i found out i was pregnant.

All my children have gone to university. Two of them have MAs. My son (my unplanned child) got a First Class MA and now works in Switzerland.

I don't think any harm has been done

@haliborangemrmen

Back in the 70s expectant mothers were advised to drink Guinness and eat extra portions of liver for the iron. We turned out ok despite this.

A few sips would be fine. More than that, probably not wise. The person to ask is your midwife.

I was advised to do this as an anemic pregnant lady in the 90s! Dd just fine.

@CLJ4180

I work in the assessment and diagnosis of FASD. Unfortunately there is so much misunderstanding about the harmful effects of alcohol during pregnancy. Actually alcohol is the most teratogenic substance to a developing baby, over all other recreational drugs such as heroin, cocaine, and so on. There is no safe amount of alcohol to drink during pregnancy, and I have seen children presenting with FASD from very minimal amounts of alcohol exposure. Therefore the only way to remove the risk of harm is to not drink at all.

I’m sorry but it’s simply not true that you are seeing children presenting with FASD from very minimal amounts of alcohol exposure, if you work in this area then you know full well there is no known risk (from a huge amount of accumulated evidence) of FASD if PAE is low/moderate so parents must not be telling the truth.

@SmidgenofaPigeon

There’s some fucking sanctimonious bullshit on here. Fuck off with your unfounded and frankly ridiculous bullshit, trying to make women feel awful for the choices they make. You know when some women get pregnant, we don’t just forget that we are still a an independent person with our own thoughts and feelings and ability to retain critical thought. We’re not just a vessel to carry a child, slave to the NHS guidelines, swanning about preaching that we only eat home-grown organic blueberries and would never dream of having a sniff of a cup of coffee or a glass of wine lest our child is any less than perfect. Personally I know what camp i’d rather be born to, and it’s not one where it’s okay to chuck out criticism and judgement on other women.

Brilliantly put @SmidgenofaPigeon. Is there such a phrase as Stepford mothers? There's a lot of that in evidence here. And as always, it's a priveleged minority who have the time, resources to treat pregnancy this way and to write about it and who shift the norms in a way that makes other women feel unnecessarily rubbish.

Why would you do this when it’s harmful. I’ve every sympathy with the sickness as I was ill for the whole pregnancy but there’s no way I would be drinking alcohol.

OP I had terrible constant nausea in my second pregnancy and my doctor did give me some anti sickness medication (I only physically threw up twice). Could you try another doctor? I'm afraid I can't remember the name of the drug.

@Lifeaintalwaysempty

This is from the BMA. This alarmism and catastrophising of pregnant women drinking small amounts of alcohol adds undue stress and pressure they don’t need.

Please please don’t worry about small amounts of red wine, if this helps your physical and mental health then it will actually be beneficial.

A 2006 review of the evidence
on the effects of alcohol on the developing embryo, fetus and child – conducted by the NPEU (National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit) – found there to be no consistent evidence
of adverse health effects from low-to-moderate PAE.8 Other reviews, including systematic reviews and large epidemiological studies, have drawn similar conclusions.79,80,81,82,83 A recent prospective cohort study in the US found no association between low-moderate prenatal alcohol consumption and a range of perinatal outcomes

The BMA guidance from CMO's changed in 2016

If you plan on breastfeeding it would be a no as-well

I'm afraid that's not true, so perhaps unclench!

@Jesusmaryjosephandthecamel

Why would you do this when it’s harmful. I’ve every sympathy with the sickness as I was ill for the whole pregnancy but there’s no way I would be drinking alcohol.

Because it isn't harmful.

It just isn't. I don't know what their motivation is, but there are people trying to make us all think that a sniff of booze will damage a foetus. It doesn't. There is endless research that shows it, as does simple logic.

@SmidgenofaPigeon

There’s some fucking sanctimonious bullshit on here. Fuck off with your unfounded and frankly ridiculous bullshit, trying to make women feel awful for the choices they make. You know when some women get pregnant, we don’t just forget that we are still a an independent person with our own thoughts and feelings and ability to retain critical thought. We’re not just a vessel to carry a child, slave to the NHS guidelines, swanning about preaching that we only eat home-grown organic blueberries and would never dream of having a sniff of a cup of coffee or a glass of wine lest our child is any less than perfect. Personally I know what camp i’d rather be born to, and it’s not one where it’s okay to chuck out criticism and judgement on other women.

Typical viewpoint from someone with their fingers in their ears who wilfully read health advice as evidence of being "sanctimonious".

Well seeing as you used sanctimonious let me share why I posted.

I'm not interested in the moral dimension. There is no moral thing here. Everyone are adults as you so stridently said. Alcohol is legal.

I'm interested more in why there's a torrent of aggression when anyone points out some very obvious, clearly researched health challenges to drinking alcohol during pregnancy.

To all the people who claim a "sniff" or a "smidgin" of alcohol doesn't damage during pregnancy..

How much is a smidgin when evaluated cumulatively over time?

For me a "sniff" is a deliberately reductive choice of word. It's like a "cheeky" thimbleful. It's a baby word, a comforting term, to try and justify something that has a question mark over it.

The NHS has been clear - avoid alcohol during pregnancy. It's there in black and white on the website. Chief Medical Officer saying "don't drink" etc.

So for all you who know what a safe thimbleful is, please share - how much and how frequently is safe, to avoid complications for your "d" c later in life?

It says avoid Brie too but I’ve just had that for my lunch. What a terrible mother to be I am 🤷🏻‍♀️

@Ginuwine

To all the people who claim a "sniff" or a "smidgin" of alcohol doesn't damage during pregnancy..

How much is a smidgin when evaluated cumulatively over time?

For me a "sniff" is a deliberately reductive choice of word. It's like a "cheeky" thimbleful. It's a baby word, a comforting term, to try and justify something that has a question mark over it.

The NHS has been clear - avoid alcohol during pregnancy. It's there in black and white on the website. Chief Medical Officer saying "don't drink" etc.

So for all you who know what a safe thimbleful is, please share - how much and how frequently is safe, to avoid complications for your "d" c later in life?

Jesus wept, so someone who drinks a few glasses of wine during pregnancy has lost all credibility to refer to their children as 'dear'? Why don't we take these innocent victims off their terrible mothers at birth lest they feed them a chicken nugget at some point. What planet are you on?

@SmidgenofaPigeon

It says avoid Brie too but I’ve just had that for my lunch. What a terrible mother to be I am 🤷🏻‍♀️

No one is saying you're a terrible mother. This isn't about you? I'd know nothing about your Brie consumption if you didn't share it as a "terrible mother" example to emotionally manipulate those advocating for no alcohol and health during pregnancy.

The OP asked if she would be reasonable to drink during pregnancy. Some senior health advisors have recommended otherwise.

Doesn't mean that those of us who quote this advice with the intention of help, are "judging".

We are not.

If everyone who states a contrary view is "judging" then I pity the sensitivity of those who feel that way.

It’s impossible to quantify @Ginuwine since ‘Ethanol distributes from the blood into all tissues and fluids in proportion to their relative content of water.’ which will vary between every persons on the planet, there’s just no way of saying X amounts of units will be ok because someone may have more body fat and less water volume so that X amounts of units would transfer into their cells (and therefore the baby) in a greater quantity before the liver had a chance to metabolise it.

Quote on alcohol absorption from here: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3484320/

@Ginwine I used it as an example. Just because the NHS guidelines have printed something in black and white, it doesn’t mean we all have to be a slave to that and not apply our own sensible judgement or critical thought. I fully support a pregnant women’s right to adhere to them absolutely. I also fully support a woman’s right not to.

Doesn't mean that those of us who quote this advice with the intention of help, are "judging".

No, but using the OP’s situation to complain that this country is too obsessed with ‘the wine’ and totally missing the point about her sickness does make it sound like you’re more interested in broad condemnation than useful support.

[quote FTEngineerM]It’s impossible to quantify @Ginuwine since ‘Ethanol distributes from the blood into all tissues and fluids in proportion to their relative content of water.’ which will vary between every persons on the planet, there’s just no way of saying X amounts of units will be ok because someone may have more body fat and less water volume so that X amounts of units would transfer into their cells (and therefore the baby) in a greater quantity before the liver had a chance to metabolise it.

Quote on alcohol absorption from here: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3484320/[/quote]

Exactly my reasoning though - that if you can't exactly define it, how can you define it's safe for you? What's the measurement tool aside from "no one tells me what to do"?