did you drink during pregnancy

[dooley1]

Was chatting to a pregnant friend today and she said the current guidelines are no alcohol at all during pregnancy due to behaviuorial problems further down the line. When I was pregnant 2 years ago the guidelines were 1 or 2 units a week so I regularly had a glass of wine with my evening meal. Ds has no behaviourial problems but my friend seemed quite shocked. So quick Mumsnet poll to see where this evidence came from - if you did the same have your kids experienced any of these behaviourial problmes???

I had one or two glasses of wine with ds1 in the pg, same for ds2. By ds3 I probably drank more- maybe I don't know, a glass a month, remember drinking two on holiday

However when they were all conceived, I was drinking. DS3 was probably worst, I found out I was pg the night after a carnival season. Oops.
I didn't have anything for six months after until we went away though.

it's of course ideal not to have any, I agree with that. I am not ideal.

Um, they haven't changed the guidelines. There's a group of doctors who want us to. But enthusiasts for their subject will often push the boundaries, in medicine as much as anything else.

Actually I think their reasoning is really that you'll only get through to the heavy drinkers if you ban alcohol completely. There's absolutely no definitive clinical evidence that drinking one or two glasses a week will cause any damage AFAIK (and I did check last time this came up). And FAS is caused by heavy drinking - again, no evidence it affects people who drink within the guidelines.

There's always an element of moral panic about the behaviour of pregnant women (and women in general, tbh - look at the Daily Mail anyday for stories on women/alcohol/sex). It's convenient for busy-bodies to be able to link this to health fears just to keep us all in line.

Can you tell I had the odd glass of wine while I was pregnant?

Like Piffle I didn't know I was pregnant until 10 weeks gone and had been quite drunk a few nights on holiday. DS seems to be fine. Also drank with DD i.e. the odd glass of wine but not too excess. Everything in moderation I think! I believe you would do yourself and your child more harm if you got totally stressed up about whether or not to have a glass of wine - we get too worked up about too many things IMHO

I did 3 pregnancy tests when on holiday with the girls and all negative... so I drank rather a lot (as well as blue cheese, pate, etc etc). Then found out when i got home that I was 5 weeks pg. No more booxe til 14 weeks as far too sick and tired, but from then on about 1 or 2 glasses 3 times a week. On my honeymoon (20 weeks pregnant) had a bit more though.

DD nearly 1 and seems OK so far. Doesn't sleep through but neither does my niece and my sister is teetotal. Must be just the way we make them!

My gynae gave me permission to have the odd glass of wine but nothing stronger & no more than one glass occasionally. I believe the current trend is no alcohol whatsoever, which is just as well. Smoking has got to be a bigger no-no, though!

Yes but not a big drinker anyway so a couple of glasses of wine a week. With DS I did crave lager so did have a lager whenever I went out which was very rare. I also drank when breastfeeding.

I didn't drink in the first trimester but then relished my 2 units (2 yrs ago that was a safe limit)at the weekend. No behavioural problems with ds other than typical toddler stuff eg throwing a tantrum cos the chocolate is finished I've noticed he likes to do "cheers" with his juice bottle though - oops

i was preg in the hot summer of 2003, was gagging for a beer loads of times, got into kaliber (low alcohol beer) in desperation. had a half of lager or pint of shandy every now and again.

as for tea, i was a bit naughty, i tried decaf tea and it was the devil's beverage, absolutely foul! so i admit i stuck to my builders style tea about twice a day

g

I drank a cold beer or 2 a day during both pregnancies, no problems at all. I found out I was pregnant first time because I had lost the ability to get drunk, I would drink alot, still feel sober, just tired... very happy now Ds is no longer breastfeeding so I can go out and get hammered occationally. Now it's a case of trying to avoid the hangover....or stay at someone elses place so you can have a hangover in peace.

couldn't even smell alcohol during first three months, just walking in front of a pub made me queezy. During months 4-5-6 I had a few drinks, but couldn't face alcohol again in months 7-8-9 because of acid reflux.... I don't think there's anything wrong with 1-2 glasses once in a while... Oh, I drank a few half of guinness whichapparently was good for me because of the iron!

In New Zealand the advice is no alcohol at all during pregnancy. The leaflets say that it is yet unknown whether even one drink can cause FAS.
My midwife said that it was more to discourage young pg mothers not to drink as there is apperently a real alcohol problem among young pacific island women in New Zealand.
I didn't drink when pregnant only because I didn't like it ... but I did have a glass of wine on Christmas day and a glass of bubbly on New Years eve ...

Very much the same as dooley1 , i had a few glasses of wine now and again , at that time i was told red wine was better for you then white, and 3 years later im still on the red!!!!! I was never told not to drink at all

When DW was pregnant we drove to a non-smoking pub twice a week for a glass of wine. The irony is that our unborn child was at far greater risk of harm during the car journey than he was as a result of the wine drunk at the end of the journey. Yet no health professionals say you should avoid car journeys because of the high risks of accidents. In fact, we'd probably have been safer walking to our local smoky pub than driving to a non-smoking pub.

had the odd glass but tbh I lost the taste for it and by the time i was 2 months pregnant i wasn't drinking at all

Reading this thread made me fancy a glass of cold white for the first time in months! I actually went out and bought a bottle...but only drunk half a glass with lots of ice so don't call the police yet!

I had a couple of halfs of guiness a week with dd1 and with dd2 had a couple of small glasses of red wine a week.

I agree with Edam.
I had about 4 galsses of wine a week, I think.

And when I went to the doctor in a state of panic about the amount of alcohol I drank before discovering I was preganant, she looked at me witheringly and said 'for heavens sake, how do you think most conceptions occur?'

I had the occasional glass of wine when pregnant with all 3 of my kids and they were all fine!

Hurray! Will be opening a bottle tonight and having a very wee tiny glass of red! Have been majorly stressed out recently, and been very worried about the effect that may be having on the baby (28 weeks pregnant today). This is my first pregnancy and so it's great to hear from mum's who've had the occasional drink, and their children have lived to tell the tale!

I agree with those that've said that stress is more harmful than the odd tipple, so I will try and have a calmer and more relaxed evening tonight with a thimble full of my favourite red.... oooh, the anticipation!

Drank nothing at all in the first trimester with both DS and DD (still gestating) - a bit in the second and about 1/4 to 1/2 a glass most evenings in the last. I have a glass in front of me as I type now, with a week and a half to go to DD-day

yes, about half a glass of red wine a week on average.

When i was pregnant with my first son, i craved cranberry ribena, and could down 3 bottles in a go.
my second pregnancy I craved tap water... how dull!! It went well with the coal I ate though

Couldn't stand the smell in 1st pg but small glass of wine most nights during 2nd and no probs - in fact dd2 cleverer than dd1 - didn't realise you weren't supposed to!