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Pregnancy

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

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Original poster

Serious drinking up to week 6 of pregnancy.

31 replies

rlcampbell · 11/01/2014 16:24

Hi everyone. As much as I try to tell myself not to worry, I really cannot seem to help it. I am utterly freaking out.

I found out that I was pregnant on the morning of New Years Eve. The test said that I was 3+ weeks pregnant. I have worked it out that at this time I was most likely 4 weeks post conception so 6 weeks pregnant.

It was wholeheartedly unplanned and my doctors think may have been due to antibiotics I was administered on holiday - wasn't advised of any adverse effects on the pill.

I have no serious concerns about the first two weeks post conception - that is weeks 3-4 as it seems the baby has it's own little sack of nourishment. There wasn't a significant amount of alcohol consumed then anyway. However, between weeks 5 and 6 I had been doing some serious Christmas partying. On 20th December (end of week 5) was my work night out. On Christmas eve I had a very drunken night in my hometown pub. On Saturday 28th we had a family gathering - so drunk on this occasion that I was sick the next day. I would say that I had at least two bottles of wine on each occasion. On most of the days in between I probably had at least a glass or two of wine as well. I obviously stopped drinking as soon as I discovered on 31st.

The most torturous thing about this is, if I'd become pregnant at any other time of year, my consumption would be nowhere near this high.

I told my midwife about these three incidents. She was not reassuring. She just said that any damage is irreversible and there was nothing that could be done now.

I am terrified. Has anyone else been through similar torment?

OP posts:

Bakerof3pudsxx · 11/01/2014 16:27

Before I found out I was pregnant with ds1 I used to go out partying all the time

I had a perfectly healthy pregnancy and he is now a happy healthy five year old

MyNameIsWinkly · 11/01/2014 16:31

Your midwife was being a bit of an arse. The placenta doesn't take over until 9/10 weeks - certainly at my scan at 6 weeks and something, the embryo was very much getting its nutrients from the yolk sac. I know its easy to say, but try not to worry too much.

picnicbasketcase · 11/01/2014 16:32

As above. I'm sure that loads of people have this worry when they find out they're pregnant unexpectedly. If you weren't trying to conceive it's perfectly understandable that you had alcohol over xmas and new year. It's not great obviously but surely there would be more risk to the baby if you drank heavily all the time, and continued to do so throughout the pregnancy, not as a few 'one-off' incidents.

ImNotAFlower · 11/01/2014 16:41

I found out that I was six weeks pregnant the week after my honeymoon. In the four weeks before the wedding I had had two hen do's, the wedding was a very alcohol fuelled affair and then two weeks in Thailand enjoying everything Thailand has to offer (including a baby elephant banging its foot on the bottom of my back ) I also had all my jabs to go there!
I have sat next to me a perfect (if stubborn) three year old. Try not to worry many women don't find out until far later and all is ok.

Willthisworknow · 11/01/2014 16:41

I drank till about just after 4 weeks. Not talking the odd glass - bottle of wine per day. Stopped as soon as found out and all my kids are fine! The FAS is hit or miss and usually more of a miss.... But as long as you stop now, you should be fine.

Willthisworknow · 11/01/2014 16:44

Ps I do believe in FAS but in the 70s, I know loads of mums who said they smoked and drank like a chimney, with few ill effects.

katheroo · 11/01/2014 16:50

With my DS1 I didn't find out I was pregnant until nearly 7 weeks, and in thst time I'd been on a hen weekend, a very boozy wedding, mi husbands 30th which resulted in lots of champagne cocktails and wine in between. I was drunk until I passed out on a few of these occasions. I was utterly horrified when I realised I was pregnant and spent my whole pregnancy convinced I'd damaged my baby. He is now a healthy, perfect and in fact very intelligent nearly 7 year old so please don't worry. I know it's not an ideal start but chances are your baby will be fine.

Original poster

rlcampbell · 11/01/2014 16:59

Thankyou everyone! It really does help hearing positive stories.
Mission: try to stay calm for the little bean... as much as I can anyway!!!
x

OP posts:

Banana29 · 11/01/2014 17:05

Try not to worry. I was on holiday with my first pregnancy, I didn't know I was pregnant, and spent the week eating sushi, drinking lots of alcohol and smoking like a chimney. Obvs stopped all of the above as soon as I found out and had a text book pregnancy and birth and now have a healthy 6m DD.

kohl · 11/01/2014 17:09

Oh bless you - I was in exactly the same position, discovered I was pregnant at 6 weeks ish with DD1, and had spent the previous fortnight doing some very very heavy partying as it was over Christmas and New Year. I drank a SHEDLOAD in that time (including a long weekend at a friend's where we drank on average 2 bottles of wine a night each), and DD1 was a bouncing, happy, perfect baby and is a joyous perfect tantrumming sleepless 3 year old now.
Please please try not to worry, your midwife sounds unbelievably sanctimonious and really unhelpful.

Maggie1204 · 11/01/2014 17:14

Sounds like you had a right laugh!!
On my first pregnancy I went on a hen do to Newquay and was so pissed me n my mate fell on the dance floor - am sure I threw up every morning and I too will have been 6 weeks pregnant -(obviously didnot know on the hen do otherwise would not have gone)
my midwife and doctors told me that it should make no difference and not to worry - people used to do it all the time in the 70's and 80's and we're all fine (in a fashion)
Now have a healthy 7 year old with only mild signs of bonkersness!!!

stinkingbishop · 11/01/2014 17:18

I discovered I was pregnant, and with twins, at 4 months. Previous to that had been traipsing around South America eating guinea pigs, loads of raw fish, fly infested home brew, a shed load (and I mean shed load, equivalent to your 2 bottles of wine) of Pisco Sours, bitten by everything under the sun, swam with sharks, heat stroke, trekked up several Andes at 5km in the sky with very thin air, smoked, had live yellow fever, anti epileptics (for altitude sickness), anti malarials, coca tea (the same plant as cocaine), had an upset tummy most of the time...

Worried myself sick, like you, when I found out. And, like you, medical profession didn't help (well, they did, v professional, but panicked me even more, by contacting all the drug companies, foetal alcohol research etc) We were told we wouldn't know for sure till they came out.

They're fine. More than fine. The finest things that have ever lived.

Mother Nature is very efficient. Our own organs are good at filtering things out, and the baby is, I am sure, growing very happily in its own little filtered cocoon.

eveylikesv · 11/01/2014 17:19

I found out l was pregnant at 8 weeks, had 3 very heavy drinking weekends prior to finding out. DS is now 13 months and absolutely fine. I also used to be a smoker and could easily go through packet of 20 while out partying. Don't worry, your little one will be fine.

grobagsforever · 11/01/2014 19:31

Your midwife was being ignorant and mean. Placenta doesn't take over until at least 8 weeks so no blood transfer. You're fine!

NatashaBee · 11/01/2014 19:38

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Vespar7 · 11/01/2014 20:16

With my daughter I had no idea I was pregnant and drank almost every single day from conception to when I missed my period. She is fine! I would think this happens to quite a lot of women!

NotQuiteWithItAtAll · 11/01/2014 20:20

I went to Alton towers, got very drunk. Went to Turkey got very drunk, smoked, went snorkeling. I done all of this without knowing I was pregnant until around 6 weeks. I now have a very healthy nearly 3 year old.

DrMcDreamysWife · 11/01/2014 20:21

My dd was totally unplanned. I found out I was pregnant on 13th of January two years ago. I would have been about six weeks pregnant. Over Christmas and new year I had been to countless parties, lunches out that lasted till midnight. A LOT of booze was drunk. I also stressed out about this behaviour once I discovered I was pregnant.

But my dd is now a very healthy bright little 16 month old running around and happily spouting new words each month. She is obviously not affected by my drunken antics.

Please don't worry. Just look after yourself now. I'm sure you're baby will be fine. Congratulations!!

firstbaby01 · 11/01/2014 21:57

I would't be too worried. I found out i was pregnant at about 6-7 weeks and before that i was smoking 15-20 a day and went out partying and got very drunk about three times and also went to a funfair twice going on lots of spinny upside down rides. I told my midwife and she wasn't fussed. she said as long as i had stopped doing all of that since i had found out than that is all i can do. try not to worry

ethelb · 11/01/2014 22:10

50% of pregnancies in this country are unplanned, and I imagine the vast majority of those women drink and smoke and eat stinky unpasturised cheese with gay abandon for the first six weeks of pregnancy before they realise, piss on a stick amd clean up their act a bit. Your midwife is a sanctamonious git and needs to realise foetuses don't use placental blood until 8+ weeks.

Smartiepants79 · 11/01/2014 22:17

I found out I was pregnant with my first child at Christmas. I'd been on two nights out and I'd been trashed. She is now a very healthy 3 yr old. Your midwife is being a bit of a scaremongerer. What she says is strictly true but it is unlikely any real damage has happened.

firstpglivingabroad · 12/01/2014 02:21

Hi. The night before I found out I was pregnant I drank 1.5 bottle of wine and smoked a packet of cigarettes. Had done the same 3 or 4 times in the couple of weeks prior to that (lots of parties). I had an 8 week scan (standard where I live) and just had the nuchal fold. All is as it should be. A friend of mine didn't find out she was pg until 12 weeks. She was a big party girl - and one week prior to bfp went on a 3 day hen weekend. Her baby is now 3 years old, completely healthy and absolutely gorgeous. Booze is certainly not great in quantity throughout pg - but let's face it, how many babies are around solely due to the effect of booze on their mother the night of conception haha. Your midwife is a b**ch (sorry), you have enough to think about without worrying about that.

grobagsforever · 12/01/2014 09:01

OP if you want further reassurance buy emily osters book 'expecting better'. It debunks loads of the pregnancy myths and women hating scares. She has review all the reliable science literature. Thanks to her I am eating runny eggs with gay abandon this pregnancy:-) .

Confitdecanard · 12/01/2014 09:15

This happened to me with my first pregnancy. I had had a few really heavy nights before I found out. I told my GP who laughed and said the baby would be fine as long as I didn't carry on. He was! Try not to worry.

HomeHypno · 12/01/2014 10:38

The dangerous time for drinking is between 9 to 12 weeks of pregnancy, because the placenta takes over from the yolk sac at that point, and major development is still ongoing. It sounds unlikely that you have done any damage because your baby wasn't really connected to your blood supply when you were drinking.

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