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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

Original poster

alcohol in pregnancy would you worry about tipple?

93 replies

pokeypants · 15/08/2012 10:03

Im half way through pregnancy and feeling well in general, in first trimestar i felt awful and obviously last thing i wanted was alcohol so abstained completely. Now I am back to normal and so is my taste for wine! I have always had the attitude that if i deprive myself i will want something more so i just go with the flow and allow myself the odd tipple/ which is a glass or two of wine of an evening. I dont get drunk wouldn't dream of drinking in excess, but i know the latest advice is avoid alcohol all together, probably because of those who continue getting plastered through pregnancy and damage their unborn babies. My first pregnancy I didn't touch a drop throughout and second had the odd glass same as this time, both were good weights, big healthy babies and growing into very bright children. What do others think?

OP posts:
bloodyfurious · 15/08/2012 11:04

The guidelines are not related to research on FAS - they are completely arbitrary - pulls there is no way of knowing if a other is being truthful in the research that has been done - it's well known anecdotally that people under estimate their alcohol intake.
It's part of the nanny state and the govt deciding we are too stupid to make informed decisions for ourselves.

JennerOSity · 15/08/2012 11:06

I think it is a personal thing.

Risk is not just how likely the problem is likely to occur, but also how bad it would be if it did.

So a highly likely consequence which is not very serious, is perhaps less of a 'worry' than a highly unlikely consequence which is very severe.

and the 'avoidability' is also a factor in the decision. Drinking alcohol is easy to avoid for 9 months - using a car is harder to avoid.

Personally, a preventable lifelong disability for my child is something I will avoid even though not likely. There are children who have been affected by 4 units a week. Of course that likelihood is smaller than those whose mothers drank much more.

So it boils down to whether you want to allow the opportunity for the problem to occur or not.

I have never come across 'hysteria' around alcohol and pregnancy. It is well known it is best to avoid, but that's about it.

I have half a pint of beer about every two 2 or 3 weeks. So I don't abstain entirely - that is a level I am comfortable with. I would not want to have more than that personally though.

stowsettler · 15/08/2012 11:12

I've given up completely, but that's not necessarily because of any holier-than-thou feelings on my part, it's more that I'm just not a one-drink gal. I mean, what's the point?!!
So, rather than risk the craving to just bosh on and have another...and another...I've decided not to put myself in temptation's way.

bloodyfurious · 15/08/2012 11:18

Based On the reading I have done - which is quite a lot - it would extremely unusual for a baby to be born with FAS after a few weeks on 4 units a week. Especially given the stigma attached to FAS.

Aworryingtrend · 15/08/2012 11:19

Pokey- can you clarify that you are having 1-2 glasses every night? Depending on the size of your glass this could equate to 2-3 bottles of wine a week which far exceeds the recommended safe intake and this level would be classed as moderate as opposed to light drinking and therefore carrying a greater risk of FAS.

This slideshow is interesting:
www.slideshare.net/PiLNAfrica/birth-defects-fetal-alcohol-syndrome

If you feel you need 1-2 glasses wine every night you need to discuss this with your midwife urgently.

Lovelylace · 15/08/2012 11:19

I agree that it is has not been done alot of research into this, BUT, for all I know alcohol has not got any particular benefits associated with it..i.e there is no special vitamin that can ONLY be found in a glass of chilled Sancerre, but we all know the negative effects it can and do bring if consumed in too large quantities. For me the positives that alcohol bring is purely on a personal, i.e i love the taste of a good wine, I like the relaxed feeling it gives me, etc etc...but as that is not enough for me to risk it, or to put it this way, it is not enough as it brings no REAL benefit for my baby, but may, or may not harm it, I like to think that I can abstain from it for nine months..and still live to tell the tale, but each to their own, and all that Smile

JennerOSity · 15/08/2012 11:27

Bloody the lady I know of drank 4 units every week through 2nd and 3rd trimester. I think she (and her son) were very unlucky, and the sad thing is that she thought she was doing the right thing, she is heartbroken. :(

That said, there are other ladies who have done the same and not had that problem - one lady upthread said she had, and would be comfortable doing so again.

This is where the debate can go round and round, because there is no set limit which is OK, medically speaking, and the factors which make one baby be affected but not another are not known.

Lexiindisguise · 15/08/2012 11:28

My midwife told me a single small glass of wine once or twice a week was fine & nothing to worry about, but no more than this. I've stuck to that, although most weeks so far I have had no more than 1 as I've gone off everything except white wine, alcohol free versions included! Am enjoying elderflower cordial or ginger ale, and a small single glass of good white if I really, really fancy it, with a meal. OP, On these guidelines my MW would advise you to cut down.

Overcooked · 15/08/2012 11:28

Jenner - I think that your friend is not being truthful about how much she drank. There is hard evidence that in order to effect the foetus at all the alchohol would have to alcohol that couldn't be absorbed by the liver and 4 small glasses a week is simply not that kind of amount. I have read a lot around this subject and the evidence suggests that in fact you are looking at sustained levels of 15 units per day to give risk to FAS.

There was very interesting article in Guardian - forget who by now, that went into detail about the gysteria around this. The Franch say no more than 14 units a week and no more than 3 units a night as the body can metabolise this so would not damage the feotus.

CakeBump · 15/08/2012 11:30

I'd ignore the official advice tbh, its a load of bollocks.

Moderate drinking is fine. I've been averaging a glass a week (which I think is much less than "moderate") except the week I got married when I probably drank about the recommended weekly amount of 14 units, maybe less).

Not been drunk, obviously (well except the night before I found out!)

JennerOSity · 15/08/2012 11:39

Overcooked - I don't know, the lady I am talking about is a careful person who would have observed the advice she was given closely. I don't think she would be mistaken and isn't the sort to play down her part - if anything her massive guilt makes her exaggerate her culpability rather than play it down.

The alcohol is in your blood until your liver processes it out, IIRC it takes one hour to process a unit of alcohol. In the meantime that alcohol has crossed the placenta and the babies body does not have the ability to process it like an adults does, so you are talking 4 hours+ of alcohol a week in the babies body in her case.

It isn't as if, the alcohol goes to the liver first, and only alcohol the liver cannot absorb enters your blood stream - it circulates freely (including into the baby) while the liver is doing its job.

So I do think she was very unlucky but I don't think her story is inaccurate - but I know her, so can appreciate why those who don't would be sceptical.

p.s did you really mean 15 units a day to give risk, or did you mean per week?

bloodyfurious · 15/08/2012 11:39

I was trying to be diplomatic - I agree with overbooked that she is probably not being truthful - not even to herself.
Many people with alcohol issues are in denial.

Overcooked · 15/08/2012 11:39

Sorry - I meant week not day!

threefeethighandrising · 15/08/2012 11:39

"I'd ignore the official advice tbh, its a load of bollocks."

Why do you think it's a load of bollocks?

On what are you basing your info - gut instinct?

Nemonemo · 15/08/2012 11:40

I've been having a couple of Guinness a week, I think the benefit of the iron outweighs the risk of the alcohol. And other than that waitrose do a delicious low alcohol cider, I think it's half a unit in 500ml, which with ice, you can string out for ages. Perfect in this hot weather, and tastes like ordinary cider.

ItsMyLastOne · 15/08/2012 11:41

Cake the recommended weekly amount isn't 14 units. Or do you mean when not pregnant?

halfasister · 15/08/2012 11:42

I think wine is quite strong, but a small glass say twice a week wouldn't hurt.
When I was pregnant I hardly drank, but a few times a can of Guinness slipped down a treat.

JennerOSity · 15/08/2012 11:44

Bloody the lady doesn't have alcohol issues. She was just a normal lady who liked wine pre-pregnancy and consulted her doctor as to how much was OK or not. If doctor had said to abstain entirely she would have done. She hasn't touched a drop since as she can't even look at it hardly.

But this isn't her story - I just mentioned her as an example that the extreme ends of likelihood are part of the risk picture, and is why there isn't a 'safe' amount. But I still think her son beat the odds (iyswim) to have been affected - the chances are, statistically, he should have been fine.

the fact that he wasn't is just one of those things, plenty of medical problems defy explanation statistically.

Thumbwitch · 15/08/2012 11:44

When I was pg with DS, my mum died (I was 19w pg at that point). It was an incredibly stressful time, so I had a small glass of red wine most evenings, usually diluted. He is fine. However, this time around, I have been off the alcohol completely, except for our anniversary (one glass), my birthday (one glass) and that's it.

1-2 glasses most nights is, IMO too much to risk. I thought I was pushing it having 1 glass most nights and only did it because the stress had the potential to cause more problems than the wine did.

JennerOSity · 15/08/2012 11:47

My mum had 1 x guinness every week on prescription when pregnant with me, for the iron... I turned out fine. Grin

maswera · 15/08/2012 11:47

threefeet - the official advice (of not drinking at all) is bollocks as it is not based on research or evidence, but on the assumption that we can't grasp the concept of a unit, so it's best not to worry our pretty little heads with bothering to try

Spice17 · 15/08/2012 11:49

Becks blue is very nice I agree. Massively miss 'real' wine though and I've had about 5 or 6 glasses throught my pregnancy so far (32 weeks) always with soda and not much wine in glass. HOWEVER it always makes me feel guilty and worried, so not great really.

At my mums wedding a few weeks back I drank the champagne toast and had a lager shandy about 5 hours after that and felt terribly guilty the day after, so not sure it's worth it IMO!

Overcooked · 15/08/2012 11:53

This was the article I was talking about:-

firstpost · 15/08/2012 11:58

I had one or two glasses once or twice a week after the first trimester and feel absolutely fine with my decision. The advice not to drink at all is not due to any new evidence, but simply because "moderate" is an amibigious word and people could drink to excess and then complain they were not aware of the risk.

There will never be a scientifically proven "safe level" because (unsurprisingly) scientists are unable to test high levels of alcohol on pregnant women.