Alcohol in pregnancy -evidence?

[PestoPenguin]

Hi

I'm pregnant with DC4, so well aware of the official advice on alcohol in pregnancy . I would like to know if anyone can provide links to evidence on the effects of alcohol at different stages of pregnancy?

With my first three I had 2/3 of a glass of red wine on about 4 occasions in the late 2nd or 3rd trimester (which was much less than the guidelines at the time said was fine). This time I have abstained completely so far, but would love a small glass of red. Before I partake, I'd like to read up on the actual research evidence on effects.

I've generally been more relaxed this time, and have been eating soft lion mark eggs for the last few weeks and things that the NHS now says is fine that I previously avoided, like pasteurised soft goats cheese, cooked prawns and medium steak (provided it's well done on the outside).

I am SO over the novelty of pregnancy after having experienced it for a total of 35 months over the last 7 years!

2/3 = two thirds, not two to three!

www.drinkaware.co.uk/facts/factsheets/pregnancy-and-alcohol
Hope this helps,
This is your 4th child you know your body and limitations,
Its all down to personal opinion, my mum has had 4 children also and by number 4 she ate soft eggs and had a glass of wine with sunday dinner each week... I am 20 weeks and i have a wine spritzers on occasions, guidlines change all the time, obviously we know not to get drunk!! but a glass doesnt hurt
XXX

Thanks. Did you know drinkaware is funded by the drinks industry?

What I'd really like to find is evidence about the specific effects of different quantities of alcohol on fetal development at different stages.

How would you achieve that though? You'd need a cohort of thousands of pg women, carefully matched for socioeconomic status, bf vs ff and education, put them each into 0 units, 1-4 units, 5-10 units, etc bands and then you'd need to do a full battery of tests on all the resulting children over a period of years, and you'd need to control the actual alcohol intake very carefully (heaven knows how).

That's why they err on the side of caution, because all we know for sure is that a) excessive intake definitely causes identifiable damage b) there's an obvious lab-proved mechanism by which very small quantities of alcohol can cause damage but it's very dodgy to extrapolate from petri-dish to humans, and you'll never know what a child would have been without those extra units.

just to play devils advocate, my friend gave birth to a baby she did not even know she was carrying, she had continued her partying and drinking and smoking, and the baby (now 5) is more than fine is leaps and bounds ahead of most the kids in his age group and has no problems at all...
its all quite strange really
X

No ethics committee anywhere would condone a study on the effects of alcohol on pregnant women.