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Original poster

did you drink during pregnancy

151 replies

dooley1 · 18/03/2006 18:04

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???

OP posts:
AggiePanther · 24/03/2006 09:29

Katetom - yes actually I have read the research - and the research is done on heavy drinkers. The reason they can't say what a safe level is is that it would be unethical to do tests on pregnant mothers with alcohol. There is no (valid)research which shows that light alcohol use harms your baby. They don't really know a safe level for loads of things that we eat, drink, breathe and touch on a day to day basis.

ruty · 24/03/2006 10:24

Katetom most of the posters here have drunk very moderately on the advice of their gp. AS i said, i drank in the first four weeks of my pregnancy when i did not know i was pregnant and then stopped completely, despite my gp saying one or two glasses of wine a week is fine. I really think your judgemental tone does you no favours.

pablopatito · 24/03/2006 10:31

Katetom

Firstly, thanks for livening up the thread.

Secondly, why are you ok with drinking when not pregnant? Isn't putting yourself at risk of premature death by drinking also a selfish act when you consider the emotional (and possibly financial) harm caused to your child by your own premature death or drink related health problems? Shouldn't you stay off the alcohol completely? After all, the research says that the only completely safe level of alcohol for a young woman is zero.

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Jackstini · 24/03/2006 11:00

The thing that stuck in my mind was that there is no research that proves even 1-2 of alcohol a week definately does NOT harm an unborn baby. Like some posters have said, this will never happen because who is going to allow their unborn child to be tested! However, until I have that in black & white in front of me I was just not willing to risk it - end of. Also would be a little embarrassed if I had to admit to myself I could not cope with giving alcohol up for 9 months - not comfortable with that.
Agree everyone has to do what they feel is right and am not judging anyone - just could not do it myself. If anything - I have felt judged when refusing a glass of wine when out, with people saying 'don't be ridiculous - one won't hurt' It's my baby & my decision - not theirs!
However - am very glad the restaurant in our maternity unit is licenced and will be downing a nice cold chardonnay with my first meal after birth!! Grin

AggiePanther · 24/03/2006 11:33

But there is no research that proves that even 1-2 cans of diet fanta doesn't harm the baby or 1-2 chicken dippers

ruty · 24/03/2006 13:03

diet fanta? I wouldnt drink that even if i wasn't pregnant! Grin

AggiePanther · 24/03/2006 14:41

lol ruty Grin no neither would I but I was just making the point that there are a gazillion things that we don't know are safe in small amounts - aspartame, msg, some forms of soy, additives, preservatives, colourings, exhaust fumes..I could go on ...

Jackstini · 24/03/2006 15:14

Can't really avoid exhaust fumes completely but most of the other stuff I try and avoid in my normal diet anyway!

AggiePanther · 24/03/2006 15:26

Jolly good for you, but thats not the point I was making - the comment I was referring to was the one that said there was no research to prove that small amounts were safe ..I was just saying that there is no research to prove the safety small amounts of many things. I happened to list things that you personally avoid but could just as easily listed something that you ate for breakfast ...do you know if there's any valid empirical research to prove that anything you consume (or are exposed to)is safe?

Jackstini · 24/03/2006 15:29

No but there is plenty of research to prove that alcohol in general can cause various degrees of damage in various circumstances.

I choose to risk it in my own body quite frequently but am simply not willing to risk it on a baby that has no choice!

AggiePanther · 24/03/2006 15:39

Yes but there is also a substantial amount of research to say that red wine in small amounts can improve health or prevent certain illnesses

Jackstini · 24/03/2006 16:55

But not necessarily for babies! The baby still has no choice about what it is fed - personally feel better going without just in case

AggiePanther · 24/03/2006 18:17

I think this could end up going round and round:)
I definitely think that you should do what you think is best for you and your baby. Believe me if I honestly thought that what I was doing was harming my baby I would stop immediately.The truth of it is though, I just don't believe that drinking a glass or so of red wine a few times a week is harmful - really I don't and I have read lots of stuff about it- I'm certainly not advocating heavy drinking. Here's a nice article that looks at some of the stuff thats been written about drinking in pregnancy and some of the scaremongering that makes us feel bad \link{http://dovercanyon.typepad.com/women_wine_critics_board/2006/01/wine_and_pregna.html#more\enjoy}

donnie · 24/03/2006 18:24

well every bloody thing is bad for you it seems!! I drank moderately in the last triemsters of both my pregnanices - I couldn't before that as I was so nauseous the whole time! a bit of wine or beer is not going to do any damage let#s be reasonable here.

BexMum · 25/03/2006 08:51

Great article AggiePanther, and pretty much what my very sensible doctor told me when I was worried about what I'd drunk before I knew I was pregnant. I'm sure being in a permanent state of stress about what we should or should not be eating & drinking can be just as harmful.

drosophila · 25/03/2006 10:11

Did anyone give up Caffeine or artificial sweeteners while pregnant? I did but I had the odd glass of wine. Research I did while pregnant convinced me to avoid these. It was almost impossible to do cos artificial sweeteners are everywhere.

How hard would you find it to give up your Tea, Coffee , Chocolate and soft drinks? I drank plain water/fizzy water all through my pregnancy.

Red wine is believed to reduce high blood pressure in France and women there are recommended to drink one glass of red wine a day during pregnancy. It's not that long ago that women in this country were advised to drink a bottle of Guiness every day for Iron.

ruty · 25/03/2006 14:46

i gave up artificial sweeteners and caffeine during pregnancy. I think artificial sweeteners are the spawn of Satan anyway [used to eat loads in my twenties unfortunately].

satine · 25/03/2006 15:01

I had the odd drink during the last trimesters of both pregnancies with no obvious ill effect. Of course it would be better to have no alcohol at all, but it would also be safer not to drive anywhere (as Pablopatito said), to eat only organic, freshly prepared food and not to live in a city (terrible pollution), near power lines or near non-organic farmland (pesticides). And filtered tap water or bottled? Highlights in your hair or the natural look? Blimey, you could honestly wear yourself to a frazzle worrying so much and this is before the baby has even been born! Just wait!

katetom · 26/03/2006 22:27

ha ha, I'm hearing you jackstini, even my mother mocked me for not having a glass of wine every now and then.

I think I'm the only one of my friends who didnt drink while pregnant and i honestly dont have a problem with it, but this thread was so one sided I just felt like speaking up. It had nothing to do with the fact ds is teething, i work fulltime and was tired and grumpy. (wink)
You defintitely could spend your whole pregnancy worrying yourself silly about what to avoid, or you could not worry about it and jsut do it. Your liver will thank you even if everyone else thinks your pedantic!

katetom · 27/03/2006 01:29

I should probably add that i didnt find out i was pregnant until i was 7 weeks, and so i did drink at the start of my pregnancy. Ds seems perfect in every way, but i guess time will tell. I was told i would never be able to have children, whihc is why it took me so long to work out exactly why I ws feeling so sick all the time...

Jackstini · 27/03/2006 13:26

This reply has been deleted

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Angeliz · 27/03/2006 13:34

katetom, if that was a non judgemental post i'd hate to see your views when you are being judgemental!
Honestly!

katetom · 27/03/2006 22:38

maybe it was judgemental.

ShaysMummy · 27/03/2006 22:43

when i was holiday, 7m pregnant with ds1, locals thought i was strange for refusing wine.
i had a couple of glasses per month from 7.5m onwards.
i didnt have any in the early stages.
i dont drink much at all now (as i am preg again and didnt really get the chance to get back into it!)
but, if i was to have one glass of wine now, i would feel tipsy straight away after just one, so thinking what this might do to my tiny baby scares me off it.

katetom · 27/03/2006 22:58

Actually, maybe i should clarify that a bit.

I dont judge anyone who has the odd glass of wine when pregnant. Its up to you, I definitely just cant do it, and thats right for me.

This new research however,(whether you believe it or not) seems to imply that there is no safe level, it could be one drink, and therefore its worth thinking carefully about isnt it???
My understanding is it may cause serious behavioural problems as the child grows, not to mention the more serious FAS symptoms we've known about for years.
As i said in my second post, i was grumpy when i wrote that first one and i aplologise now for any offence. Enjoy your vino.