Heavy drinking before conception

[SunshineMine]

Hi, 👋

My partner and I had planned to start trying for our second baby this month. I went out for a drink at the weekend and got very carried away (going out with the girls is now a rare treat after my DS1).

Anyway, I completely regret it because I got so so so messy, (vomiting throughout the night etc.). I'm now not sure if it's a good idea to even try this month? I'm worried that I will have damaged my eggs and cause long term issues that I can never forgive myself for.

The issue we have is that DH works away and his schedule for at least the next 3 months means he'll be away for all of my fertile windows during that time so this will set us back on our plans to start trying.

I've tried to do some research on this but all the articles I can find are about prolonged heavy drinking or drinking after conception. I can't find anything about a one off session prior to conception. (I'm typically not a heavy drinker, just a few glasses of wine on weekends.)

Hoping someone out there can provide some guidance or articles that may help me figure this one out.

Thanks ☺️

Honestly there’s not going to be proper research or evidence on this as it’s impossible to analyse. But if you think about the amount of babies conceived after drunk nights, it’s really not an issue. Just try anyway, see what happens.

I really wouldn’t worry about this pre-conception. As previous poster said so many babies are conceived after mortal drunk nights in the pub. My daughter was conceived a few days after I got home from a week long hen do in Ibiza (you can probably imagine how much alcohol was involved in that)! She’s now a perfectly healthy 4 month old x

I found out I was pregnant the day after a heavy night drinking with friends! 11 weeks now and all seems to be well, I wouldn't worry about it. One night if drinking won't affect egg quality.

Honestly don't worry about it. Good luck!

I had spent the summer heavily boozing at bbqs, parties, holidays whilst not knowing I was pregnant. Obv stopped immediately .. went on to have twins, great weight and perfect. Certainly don't worry about pre-conception drinks.

DD was conceived after a night out and I carried on drinking Merrydown cider for a few weeks til I found out I was pregnant. I suddenly couldn’t stomach alcohol or coffee, so did a test.
This was 35 years ago. I had a wonderful pregnancy and the birth went smoothly.
Please don’t worry OP x

Just to echo what everyone else said, I wonder how many babies are conceived on drunken nights out? Date nights with wine? On holidays? At festivals? etc

There are women who don't even realise they're pregnant until months later who carry on living as normal, possibly out socialising and drinking a couple of times a week.

Different if you were heavy drinking every day or if you couldn't stop after finding out you were pregnant but, with what you describe, I don't think there is anything to worry about at all.

You're completely normal.

I am 9 weeks pregnant now and the pregnancy came as a complete shock (not planned) after a busy spring and early summer of weddings, engagements, holidays, birthdays, bottomless brunches, weekends away etc. The minute I got that BFP it all stopped of course but, the run up, I was just living a normal life.

I think I read somewhere that it's technically only bad for pregnancy post 8 weeks when the placenta has formed. Really not sure if this is accurate, but it provided me with some comfort. Hopefully, It'll do the same for you? Obviously I completely agree that consistent excessive alcohol is bad for egg quality etc., but I don't actually think a one off is that bad. I'm in a similar boat where we DTD around ovulation and prior this, a weekend away with a few couples ended up fat more hungover than I had hoped for. Currently 8DPO so we'll see what happens 🙃

Thanks everyone for your kind messages. I really appreciate it and it's definitely put my mind at ease ☺️

A friend of mine only found out she was pregnant at 20 weeks after a summer of getting drunk night after night at festivals and clubs. Little man is 6 now and sharp as a button.

I wouldn't say it's drinking before you even conceive that's an issue, it's carrying on drinking once you're pregnant/baby is growing and when the placenta takes over etc.
I wouldn't worry about this one little bit if it was me. So I'd relax a little!

I agree it's totally fine! Go for it and good luck xx

You can't change what happened so I would try not to worry.

There's some evidence that regular drinking reduces fertility, and couples with known fertility problems are absolutely recommended to stop drinking, smoking, weed etc.

That said plenty of people get pregnant after a drunk night out.

Regardless of whether you drank, there's only around a 25% chance of getting pregnant if you have sex during the best days in your FW, each cycle.

So each month you try, there's a high chance (75%) that it won't be the month you get pregnant. These things take time, and they usually require multiple goes. You'll prob need to start TTC in earnest once he is back from his 3 month trip.

Even if this isn't your month (abd qe hooe it is), it will probably be unrelated.