alcohol & pregnancy

[swampmonster]

I am 20 weeks pregnant & desperate for just a little alcohol would a can of cider be too much with a meal?

It's personal choice. I have been having up to 2 units a week and my midwife says that this is fine. Some weeks I have nothing and it doesn't bother me in the slightest. I have had Christmas, my 30th Birthday and a wedding so have seen having a glass of wine as a treat.
Lately I have been craving cigarettes!!! Not sure where that has come from!! I was a social smoker previously but over the past few weeks I have been craving for a fag. I will obviously never have one.

Scheherazade - you know that fruit juice has 0.2% alchohol, right? I think it's quite likely your baby will have naturally occurring alcohol in their first year, even of you avoid e.g. Cooking with alchohol.

Good job I don't have fruit juice.

But there's a line we all have to decide to draw. For me, personally, it was easier to just say "for 9 months I will not drink alcohol". I'm not an alcoholic or addicted to alcohol so it wasn't a difficult decision to make.

I had a few half glasses of fizz over Christmas and the odd inch of red wine but just don't feel like it. I did drink more with DS1 because my tastebuds seemed to act differently - but not a significant amount more.
I do however think that the risk is low for a glass a week or so - I may be wrong - but I'm of the understanding that Katie Prices son Harvey is disabled in the way he is because she was so drunk so often during her pregnancy which she has admitted. So there is a risk but I dont think anyone on here is advocating drinking like that.

I like the Bavaria 0% beer if we are having 'beer food' ie curry!

Scheherezade - you know, thats awfully short sighted of you. I am not drinking now, I was feeling bad about the drinks I had BEFORE I knew I was pregnant. Not everyone plans meticulously, for months before hand, watching what they eat and drink and do "just in case".

Ive tried low/0% alcohol replacement things and Im just not keen - fizzy vimto seems to be my thing right now!

I'm not talking about anyone else. I said when I found out I was pg, it was easiest for me to simply say I wasn't drinking anymore. That was my decision to make. I don't see why I should be criticized for it.

Crikey! I had a small port and lemon every night when I was PG with DD! It helped me sleep!

Are people really avoiding fruit juice because the alcohol content ?

Scheherezade - apologies, I mis read what you wrote. Yes I too am not drinking anything, i might do later on, but I just dont feel like it at all so its not a great loss.

Considering the large percentage of pregnancies that are unplanned and turn out perfectly fine, when mothers have presumably been boozing it up normally, I would be shocked if a unit here or there had any effect whatsoever on the fetus. Agree with whoever said it's more about misogyny than health.