Alcohol

[MrsCK]

Can I get opinions or experiences of drinking alcohol in pregnancy? I'm literally talking 1 glass a week...If that. What are the guidelines?

I have to disagree that the guidelines are too strict. Many HCPs who work with pregnant women and children with FASD are frustrated that they are not more explicit about avoidance. There is no proven safe level of alcohol in pregnancy so the only way to be 100% certain that it won't affect a baby is to avoid it. Some foetuses will be more susceptible to the effects of alcohol than others because of genetics, and it's impossible to predict this. IMHO, precautionary principle is the way to go. And there's not much point avoiding in certain trimesters because brain development continues throughout pregnancy. It's up to each individual to decide of course...

I had the odd prosecco at Christmas and the odd weak shandy the rest of the time with DC2. DC1 I had the odd red wine/shandy too, including in the first few weeks (sipping while trying to hide the fact I wasn't drinking as much as usual). Both kids are perfect.

I've probably had about 1 drink a month. Wine and gin are the only drinks I like apart from water, tea and coffee, so I really really really miss the taste. I've tried the alcohol free ones but they aren't as tasty. I wasn't a massive drinker beforehand so it's not like I was on the lash every night but I do miss a glass of wine with dinner.

Until recently pregnant women were told to drink Guinness for the iron and it's not like a whole generation have FAS. Studies have also shown FAS is less common in mainland Europe (where light drinking with meals is allowed) than the USA (where drinking is banned), suggesting that moderation is the key.

I didn't drink at all but as being PG was such an achievement for me I wasn't prepared to take any chances! Most people I know had the odd glass.

I would be almost willing to bet my house that there are no children suffering from FAS whose mothers drank no more than 1 -2 units of alcohol each week with a meal during pregnancy. I think the "no alcohol during pregnancy" guidelines is overly strict and assumes that pregnant women have no judgement or self control.

I have 1 - 2 glasses of wine a week, usually with a meal. (If it's not with a meal I will have a VERY tiny glass, like 50ml.= which is approx .5 of a unit). I am totally comfortable with this approach, and so is my obstetrician. Read Expecting Better for an interesting analysis of pregnancy recommendations.

First trimester is definitely the time to take more care, especially 8 - 12 weeks.

There are actually a small number of studies that suggest that neurobehavioral outcomes may be altered by light drinking. The whole data set is a complete mess though, which is why in my opinion precaution is sensible. FASD is a spectrum disease so while it is very clear cut that classical FAS is linked to heavy drinking, everything else ( effects of binging and lighter drinking) are really still unknown

There are a few examples of medicines where it is known that high doses cause birth defects, but there is little evidence of any effect with lower doses. Fluconazole is a good one. High doses cause malformations but there is actually quite robust evidence that standard doses are not harmful. Despite this, low dose fluconazole is not licensed or generally recommended for use in pregnancy. Why should alcohol be any different, especially when some studies have suggested possible harm.

There are actually some very well designed studies that indicate light drinking in pregnancy does not result in FAS nor any developmental problems.

In terms of harm avoidance to your foetus you would be better off giving up driving than giving up light drinking in pregnancy.

The data are conflicting and all of the studies are confounded. Long term developmental problems are very hard to study and the research done doesn't always look at the same outcomes. The bottom line is that we just don't know, so avoidance is sensible. Coincidentally, I actually reviewed all of the up to date data at work on Friday.

Driving comparison is bogus. You may need to drive to conduct your daily life, earn money etc therefore you could conclude that the benefits outweigh any small risk. Most people do not need to drink, and there are no discernible benefits, so surely not worth the risk, even if you perceive it to be small. The absolute reality is that we just don't know at the moment.

I had an odd small glass of wine/fizz here and there throughout pregnancy but to be fair I didn't really want to drink or eat lamb throughout pregnancy, i didn't like the taste or smell. I still find lamb hard to eat (6yrs later) but thankfully no problems with the wine!

Littlepeas the trouble with comparing with medicine is that due to trial ethics, hardly any medicines are recommended. Including ones which are routinely used to preserve high risk pregnancies and for fetal medicine! Ask many women on these prescriptions (from world class on/gyn) ... Some chemists will refuse us!
Also, women will admit to taking medicine.
They lie about drinking! In fact more likely to say "none" or one glass if they KNOW they binge than not!

I've had the odd bold black cherry cider, there's 2.3 units in the bottle and I can never manage the full bottle so I know I'm having less than that.

I take the view that light alcohol intake after the first tri is fine. I have seen no medical studies to make me think otherwise.

I drank nothing for about the first 4 months. Through the second tri I probably had about 6 glasses of wine (each one on a separate occasion). I will continue that through the third tri. I "save" my allowance for when I really want one and won't have a casual glass if I can take or leave it. I haven't gone off alcohol at all through pregnancy, unfortunately. That would have made it easier!

I drank a glass of wine probably every other week from 20 weeks onwards. I measured the wine out and worked out the units bassed on the alcohol %, I had my tiny glass of wine in the bath on a Friday evening and it was such a treat!

Ds is 18 months and seemingly very normal.

I am a real worrier and whenever I have a ( very irrational) worth about ds I worry that maybe the occasional glass of wine has damaged him but logically I know he is fine and even if he did have problems he would have probably had them regardless of the occasional small glass of wine.

I'm pregnant with dc2 at the moment, I haven't drank any alcohol ( apart from a couple of

I cut out alcohol initially just because it wasn't a big deal for me to do so, and it just seemed simpler rather than keeping track and worrying over how much I have.

However, I had a one off swig of the wine I was putting into the risotto the other day and the bastard stuff gave me killer heartburn for the rest of the day. And that was just one gulp! So there is my new reason for not drinking.

Yes, most medicines are not recommended in pregnancy because precautionary principle is applied to cover the drug companies. This is largely due to lack of evidence of safety rather than due to direct evidence of harm (although a clinician is always free to review the evidence for themselves and prescribe at their discretion, hopefully after counselling the patient about risks and benefits). In contrast, there is some evidence that low levels of alcohol may cause harm. It's not great evidence for many reasons, including that women may under report their drinking. And there are studies that do not show harm. The bottom line is that we just don't know. But it seems paradoxical to me that we are so cautious about medicines, despite the fact that they may offer tangible benefits, and yet the same precautionary principle is not routinely applied to alcohol, a recreational substance.

I've not really had an issue avoiding alcohol; I'm in my 3rd trimester now and would be fine with the odd glass of wine but when I tried my first glass in a long time a few weeks ago, I immediately felt sick! I tried again last week and nope, can't stomach it! It's strange as I haven't gone off the thought of it and the smell is fine. Ah well, just need to wait I guess...