Page 18 | To have one small glass of red wine at 38 weeks pregnant?

baby2c · 2025-08-22T19:49:27+00:00

I’m not a drinker at all but DH gets a bottle of red once or twice a month and tonight I really fancy just a very small glass, I’m a weirdo (according to DH) who likes ice in red wine on the rare occasion I have it. DH is only having one glass just in case I was to go into labour and he had to drive to hospital. So I was thinking of having a tiny amount with some ice and enjoying sipping it whilst watching tv in my pjs however I’m not sure if this is totally out of order or reasonable? Would you? Or did you? I haven’t touched alcohol at all since finding out I am pregnant at 4 weeks.

TheKeatingFive · 24/08/2025 18:43

StandFirm · 24/08/2025 17:53

It's the alcohol exposure, even with one glass, the baby will be exposed. Yes, it might be small but considering that the foetus does not effectively metabolise it and that the placenta also soaks up some of it, I couldn't say for myself that it's 100% safe to do it. The problem is no one can say if a low exposure to alcohol is safe. Globally, the guidelines are all the same so there seems to be a real consensus among public health authorities. For me the unknown (ie. no known safe amount) is not an acceptable level of risk but I realise that it is for many on the thread. If there is damage, I believe it's on the baby's brain development (even late in the pregnancy), which can cause behavioural issues. I'm not saying that to make anyone paranoid, just that the risk is not nil so I'd rather steer clear and if I'm asked for advice I'd never tell anyone to 'go for it'.

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There is literally zero evidence that one glass of wine will negatively affect an unborn baby in the third trimester.

ethelredonagoodday · 24/08/2025 18:44

Emptyandsad · 24/08/2025 09:46

The advice from the Royal College of Gynaecologists is clearly intended to stop people drinking heavily, rather than at all, while protecting itself from any possible accusations of encouraging drinking

This is from their site; for breastfeeding mothers they advise no more than 14 (14!!!) units a week. A mother who has been drinking (suggesting repeated instances in the early stages of pregnancy) during pregnancy is reassured that the chances are that the baby will be fine. No encouragement to go to the GP to fess up and get a barrage of tests to see if the baby is ok.

Mothers-to-be should do whatever they think is appropriate for the health of their baby. People are different and will have varying attitudes to risk. Nobody would advise pregnant women to drink but there is no evidence to suggest that having an occasional drink poses any risk to mother or baby. There is no scientific evidence to suggest that it's safe either - because nobody has carried out the necessary research, not because anyone scientific thinks that it's dangerous.

Edited

This.

have the drink if you fancy it OP. I had a small glass of wine every weekend, during both my pregnancies, back in the days when that was considered ok. I have two (mainly) delightful, strapping teenage kids.

PencilsInSpace · 24/08/2025 23:09

StandFirm · 24/08/2025 17:53

It's the alcohol exposure, even with one glass, the baby will be exposed. Yes, it might be small but considering that the foetus does not effectively metabolise it and that the placenta also soaks up some of it, I couldn't say for myself that it's 100% safe to do it. The problem is no one can say if a low exposure to alcohol is safe. Globally, the guidelines are all the same so there seems to be a real consensus among public health authorities. For me the unknown (ie. no known safe amount) is not an acceptable level of risk but I realise that it is for many on the thread. If there is damage, I believe it's on the baby's brain development (even late in the pregnancy), which can cause behavioural issues. I'm not saying that to make anyone paranoid, just that the risk is not nil so I'd rather steer clear and if I'm asked for advice I'd never tell anyone to 'go for it'.

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Globally, the guidelines are all the same so there seems to be a real consensus among public health authorities.

Public health in most countries goes along with what WHO says on most topics. The 'no safe level of alcohol in pregnancy' message came from WHO. In 2021 they also said:

appropriate attention should be given to prevention of [...] drinking among pregnant women and women of childbearing age”

https://fullfact.org/health/who-alcohol-women/

But they don't just say that there's no safe level of alcohol in pregnancy, they say there's no safe level of alcohol full stop.

https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/04-01-2023-no-level-of-alcohol-consumption-is-safe-for-our-health#:~:text=No%20level%20of%20alcohol%20consumption%20is%20safe%20for%20our%20health.

I find these statements strange because I don't think you can ever find a 'safe level' of anything, it's just not how science works. You can find evidence of harm or no evidence of harm and, as numerous posters have pointed out, no evidence of harm is not the same as 'safe'.

PencilsInSpace · 24/08/2025 23:19

BPAS has a useful page:

https://www.bpas.org/our-cause/campaigns/briefings/alcohol-in-pregnancy/

TeaBiscuitsNaptime · 25/08/2025 00:49

To add my own experience. I drank a glass of beer towards the end of my pregnancy. Id had a bad day and convinced myself that one would be ok. I felt the baby move around a lot and was vigourously squirming after drinking. There was an obvious effect on the movements of the baby. I don't know if it was related but I went into labour 5 weeks early.