The government doctors advice has changed now it is NO alcohol in pregnancy ane when trying to conceive at all

[zippitippi]

.....

early alcohol can damage the egg and cause miscarriage and facial deformities, later it can cause a spectrum of brain damage and low birth weight

so the new advice is abstinence

this brings this country into line with eg the US

interestingly obstetricians are sticking with 1 to 2 units a week

times online

Does anyone know what advice is given in the rest of Europe? I remember reading that relatively recently pregnant women in France were actively encouraged to drink a glass of wine a day. Is this true? If so it would be really interesting to compare the rate of more "subtle" neurological or behavioural problems (i.e. ADHD type syndromes, not FAS).

Well in my opinion the advice is so over cautious that it is rendered meaningless. Say you are trying ttc. Yet again your AF has arrived - or you've a just done a pregnancy test and it is negative. You may want to pour yourself a glass of wine, but the government advises you not to - and anyhow the problem of people drinking in early pregnancy before they realise (I would guess) is more prevalent in women who were not ttc and who have beome pregnant by accident.
You are 36 weeks pregnant, haven't touched alcohol all pregnancy. You are at your sisters wedding. You want a sip of champagne at the toast - government advises you not to.
Silly and meaningless advice in my opinion.

diplodocus - I don't know what the current government guidelines are here in France. One issue here is that as there is no NHS, obstetricians, gynaecologists, midwives etc are usually independent and are much less quick to adopt new guidelines than in the UK. That's one of the reasons one can get horribly conflicting advice here between one practitioner and another.

But I will try to find out.

I think if there is an element of doubt then the government is right..my unfounded unproven suspicion is that there may be risks

there is no safe level proven as I understand it

and as cloudhopper says not terribly difficult to not drink for the possible lack of harm

oh dear clarify again

for most people not difficult not to drink

if drinking is a problem then it's a good time to try and address it

In my opinion having a glass of wine having just discovered you are not pregnant is not a problem. The government is now advising against it though.

Please everyone think carefully before you have that sherry trifle.

If a glass of wine was as dangerous as 'they' imply, the human race would have died out an awfully long time ago. Every culture on the planet has found ways of producing alcoholic substances. It must have been one of our earliest preoccupations...

I have read advice (I think it was on a US parenting site) that no woman of child-bearing age should drink alcohol. Just in case....

A lot of medical information is subject to debate / conflicting studies etc

Things are rarely cut and dried or only emerge so after years (risks of smoking etc)

Fio I agree with you about support and rehab

My obtetrician here in France recommends one glass of red wine a day !

mozhe - how are you finding your ante-natal care in France versus UK? Apart from the different recommendations on alcohol consumption...

I agree with fio and franny re help

Problem is, real help costs money...

a cynic might indeed say that changing this advice has little cost attached to it

Anna...good, I've no complaints though they are obsessed with weight ! I don't put on much weight when I'm pregnant so my obstetrician keeps recommending I eat more fatty foods like camenbert and pate,( they think the UK advice in relation to this is nuts....), but my colleague who is also pregnant but putting on too much says they are perfectly horrid to her and she dreads going.....they are making her see the physio to recommend more exercise ! I cannot see that going dowm too well with UK mothers...

Indeed. A cynic might zippi.....

this has made me really effing cross actually. it is so terribly patronising.
here;s the research but you can't be trusted to understand or apply it, so we'll give you a clear simple message that even you fluffy headed women will be able to understand.

mozhe - yes, I agree, they are obsessed with weight here and really don't want women to put on more than baby+placenta+a bit of water. I have more than one friend who has left the obstetrician's office in floods of tears after being told she had put on too much weight.

I wonder whether it has something to do with the low extended breastfeeding rates in France? I put on masses of weight (18kg) when pregnant but was still about 5kg less than my pre-pregnancy weight (ie very, very thin indeed) after 8 months of breastfeeding (and an elephantine appetite). No-one talks about building up stocks of fat for breastfeeding here.

Thank God I've finished my breeding
Interestingly the only one of my 3 I didn;t drink at all with (severe hyperemesis and food aversions) has arare genetic syndrome
Ho hum
The one I spent the first 7 weeks off my face (unplanned and unknown - the pregnancy that is) is a Gifted student aged 13 and well built and fabulous...

Yep the french are real 'weight police', especially with the pregnant !!