Interesting and disturbing article about foetal alcohol syndrome.

[Callisto]

I found this article in the Sunday Torygraph yesterday, thought you'd all be interested: here.

aren;t a significant number of pregnancies caused by copious amounts of alcohol (supporting your theory!)

This information is interesting.

www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A2788563

In 1997, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists conducted a large study including 400,000 American women, all of whom had consumed alcohol during pregnancy. Not a single case of Foetal Alcohol Syndrome occurred and no adverse effects on children were found when consumption was less than 8.5 drinks per week8. Note, however, that this was a study of FAS and not FASD. There is no 'magic number' for amount consumed other than a few generally agreed-on rules. Negative effects appear to be related to higher blood alcohol content levels (greater consumption in single instances)9.

But wouls those of you have acted if - having already drunk - the gp said it was beyond advised limits - i doubt it
you cant really blaim a doctor for giving adivse after the effect
those of you who got pregnant without knowing - surly you knew after you had tested

why can;t I balme Dr for giving advice afetr the vent - its a bit pointless (unless in the context of "next time you don't know you're pregnant please don't drink excessively")

There's a lot of kids with what seems to be FAS at the SN rugby club Ds1 attends (they're all foster kids btw). really sad how anyone can do this to a child . But its something we have been questioned about- how much did I drink with the boys- by the Paed / SW. I know its routine but it still makes me upset that people do this (for the record, I had 1 glass of wne or champage at a special event with each).

I think FAS is p[robably rpesent at a loe level in society, more's the pity. but poeple can stip drinking- my Sis and BIl spent mroe each week on alcohol than food, but when they started to try for their ds they both stopped drinking.

Fresia you cant count getting drunk between conception and the test- you really just dont know. And anyway isnt it the case that foetus isnt likely to beaffected until placenta develops (or do I have that hugely wrong?)

My "Good reason" to still drink sometimes in pregnancy:

Because it's incredibly F'ing hard work being preggers, pushes you to your physical limits in so many ways, and you truly do have to completely give up so many other pleasures and comforts.

I'm not a saint. Give me a nanny a cleaner unlimited money a perfect husband and 7 months in the Bahamas and I probably could just pass up on the alcohol along with so many other nice things you give up when expecting. Else, cut me some slack, please.

Flack nobody was getting at you personally unless I have missed something????

FWIW I don't think that's a great reason, however its your decision and you make it for yourself. But if you're happy about it don't be defensive; if you're not do something about it.

i feel i am lucky in that i never want to drink when i am pregnant - at least after 6 weeks or something - no desire at all

with ds1 i was young and no thought of having a child had ever entered my dumb skull...i was 9 weeks gone when i realised and had boozed and done a sight more than booze..

my child was good birthweight and is a 14 year old bright spark

i may just be lucky

but for time immemorium womyn have given birth and drunk all manner of gin and mead

i am probably being naive but i feel the media have a role in this

i think i had a bucks fizz at my brother's wedding when i was 7 months pregnant and a half glass of white at a barbeque, apart from that nothing. i don't have a nanny and i've never been to the bahamas.
tbh, flack, they all sound like good reasons to take up yoga rather than have a drink. peachy's right, if you're happy then fine, that's great, but they don't sound like particulalry compelling reasons to me either. i'd have thought that if your body was being pushed to its limits the last thing you'd want to do would be to put it under further strain.

The advice in France changed last year (huge gov advertising campaign) and stated that no alcohol should be drunk during pg.

I saw a very heavily pg woman smoking the other day. I wanted to wallop her.

yes we saw one walking through the centre of leeds the other day with her MUm
thing was everyone was visibly disapproving (leeds is dead posh dontcha know) and she just brazened it out! Wierd!!!

yes we saw one walking through the centre of leeds the other day with her MUm
thing was everyone was visibly disapproving (leeds is dead posh dontcha know) and she just brazened it out! Wierd!!!

cut you some slack?

okay..who will do that for your unborn baby?

Drinking alcohol in moderation doesn't put your body under strain - drinking it to excess does. That's very simple whether you are pregnant or not.

Mumto3girls, there is no evidence that drinking lightly in pregnancy does any harm to your unborn baby. Please don't insinuate that doing so is some form of abuse.

Reasons to continue drinking in pregnancy are that same for continuing anything done in moderation that you did before getting pregnant, jogging included. Even smoking is not yet a capital offence.

Are we going to vilify pregnant women for walking unmasked beside busy roads, I wonder? Or unmasked kids in buggies in town centres being exposed to all those harmful nanochemicals and god knows what else in the air?

These are all guidelines - abuse of any drug, be it nicotine, alcohol or crack cocaine can affect the foetus. It's probably more risky getting in a car and driving to the shops when pregnant than it is having a glass of wine a day.

Why do they need to point aout the fricken obvious - you dont drink or smoke in pregnancy as that is the equivalent of letting your baby drink/smoke

MT my point was to flack, who said that her reason for drinking was that her body was pushed to its physical limits by pregnancy. i would contend that under such circumstances it is less rather than more advisable to have even a small amount to drink as the effect would surely be all the greater.

but you know what, i really agree with LVT, why get your unborn child even slightly drunk, it's pretty disgusting..? despite having had a couple of drinks during my last pregnancy that image alone has decided me that i won't do it should i ever get pregnant again.

i think MT the problem is that everyone is susceptible to alcohol in different degrees. One glass of wine and i feel like crashing out. [honestly!] So if i feel like that when for others a glass of wine is just a warm up [i was always a cheap date ] then i am guessing babies have different susceptibilities too. There may be no evidence that light drinking can cause harm to the foetus [tho actually i think there has been some recently will have to look it up] but for example with all medication doctors say better not take it unless absolutely necessary, as no studies have been done on pregnant women to prove it is safe. Therefore i think it is best to err on the side of caution with alcohol and cut it out - well that's what i would do anyway. [i cut it out when i knew i was pregnant at 4 weeks, before that i had had a few drinks] But the medical advice is confused and it is hard for mothers to know exactly what to do, they need to make advice much clearer.

Oh goodness yes Ruty.

I have a glass and not only am I very tipsy, I have the hangover after to match [annoyed by own lightweightedness emoticon]. 2 last weekend and I was completely gone.

I am so glad I didnt really drink with ds1 and ds2 especially, due to the list of prnlems they have anyhow (and that the pg had in the case of ds1). Yet I couldn't have known that when I made the decision, hence its better (imo) to just skip it, really, its not forever and probably if your eally can't there's other stuff going on anyhow.

There is no evidence to categorically say that there is no harm to your unborn baby if you drink whilst pregnant. There is eveidence to show that drinking in some levels and some instances does affect the baby FOR LIFE..not just 9 months.

It's for just 9 months for goodness sake.!!..why do so may people not feel able to sacrifice a little treat for themselves to ensure a healthy baby ( or at least one no affected by drinking or smoking).

You aren't ensuring anything. There are no sureties in life, I'm afraid.

Excessive drinking is excessive drinking. There is no need to vilify and guilt trip women who enjoy the odd glass or two into thinking they are alcoholics who are harming their babies, it's just madness.

Pregnant women are routinely given morphine and other extremely potent drugs ffs ? during labour! And if you drink a glass of wine, only a fraction of that will be transferable to the womb. No one is talking about 'getting drunk'.

you are ensuring that your personal alcohol intake and/or smoking have not adversely affected your baby. Simple for anyone to understand.
Of course other things could harm an unborn child, but this would at least be some peace of mind.

is it okay for women who enjoy the odd joint then? or an occasional snort of coke?