OK, any mumstobe watched Trevor McD last night and now scared to touch a drop of alcohol ?

[egypt]

It shocked me to see these young mums-to-be binge drinking, but to most people, that's an obvious no no. what was the most worrying was the woman who had drank moderately and had a child with sever fetal alcohol syndrome. and the doc that was advocating no drinking at all.

i didnt drink at all with my dd except a little in the first 2 weeks before i knew i was preg and the odd glass of wine in the last month. i am now 15 wks preg and have had the odd glass of wine on an eve 2-3 times a week. now worried i shouldnt have and don't want to touch another drop!

anyone else see this?

Never tasted Eisberg so can't say. I found the Whissin (whiskey substitue) to be the most realistic tasting when I mixed it with coke. I see they're doing a rum substitute too now and a hazelnut liqueur, might have to try them. They're also doing a pernod one but thats vile stuff at the best of times.

Hi quick introduction name Tina 36 weeks pregnant and new 2 mumsnet. Not a pregnancy drinker myself but i do believe during war times women drank guiness, 1 because of the iron quantity and 2 due 2 the quality of water supply in this country at the time. Has anybody any advice 4 me, 1st pregnancy and baby is breech with no sign of turning not really wanting to try the external moving of baby sounds a little bit 2 traumatic 4 him.

Hi Tina, welcome to mumsnet. I'm sure your breech query has been discussed before - have you tried a search?

That's a good point about Guinness: drinking alcohol in pregnancy has been common for many years in many countries. If moderate drinking was a frequent cause of problems, it would be easy to spot. (For example, it's easy to show that even moderate smoking leads to smaller babies).

So maybe a small amount of alcohol has common but subtle effects, or that it has rare but devastating effects.

It's also perfectly possible that it has a small, transient and ultimately harmless effect. That, after all, is what happens to us when we have a drink.

It seems to me that the jury is still out, and I don't see how media scaremongering is going to help anyone.

(My tactic when pregnant is to have a sip of DH's wine for the taste of it, make the most of that, then drink water. But I wouldn't criticise anyone having 1-2 drinks a week.)

Did a search and found comments very reassurring. Thank you confirmed that i have made the right decision just going 2 let nature take it course, as mentioned he still has another 4 weeks 2 get his bum moving!

Think Trevor McDonald's prog is ridiculously scaremongering. I normally don't watch as every subject he deals with is treated in the same way but I couldn't resist watching this one.

Wonder how many mothers they had to interview to find a group who genuinely didn't know that the 'limit' for pg women was 1 to 2 units, once or twice a week. I also couldn't believe that they didn't know that those humungus glasses of vino they were pouring were more than a unit. One of the so called 'moderate' drinkers had apparently consumed 9 units in an evening, thinking it was 'only' 4 (which is still too much).

I barely drank at all during my pregnancy was DS1 and had a twitchy baby during scans, he is a twitchy, active child. I did drink more often when pg with DS2 but still well within the recommended limits and he was a sleepy baby during scans and is a much more placid child.

Hmmm... 4 units (let alone 9) in an evening doesn't really fall into the category of "moderate" pregnancy drinking does it.

With 1st child, I drank quite a lot for the first six weeks of pregnancy, not realising I was pg and having hen nights, birthday parties galore at the time.

I couldn't face alcohol after that due to sickness and in the later stages of pgy, had maybe one glass of wine a month or something amazingly moderate like that! I THINK DH is ok.

Same with this pregnancy. I'm 12 weeks 4 days gone. I was on holiday for first three and a half weeks and shared a bottle of wine with DH most nights. I didn't see the prog but I've been concerned anyway because the amount I drank was hardly moderate.

I reckon it's not that hard to do without the booze if you're the slightest bit worried. But then I'm not convinced one glass of wine a week is going to cause any problems. You could always dilute the wine with water too.

Thought Daisy Waugh's article was spot on. I am not drinking at all this time, though may have the odd diluted unit by the time I get to 30 weeks. DS1: Found out I was pregnant after a holiday, where I shared a bottle of wine with DH every evening. DS2: conceived on holiday in wine region! Both normal healthy children and I did have 1 or 2 units per week with both after 12 weeks. This time I am just more paranoid about being older, and also had ms for the first time too which really put me off as I felt hungover even though stone cold sober.
There is a lot of scaremongering around. You'd have thought there were bigger things to make a programme about. Nukes in Korea anyone?

I'm a great believer in 'everything in moderation'. However the choices I make at the moment about what I eat and drink aren't just about me - I'm also making choices for my baby, who doesn't get any say in the matter. So if there is even the smallest possibility of a risk to my unborn child, then to my mind, it's a risk not worth taking. But that's my choice - and it's down to each individual woman to decide what she feels is an acceptable level of risk for her and her baby.

For the time being, I have to satisfy myself with sniffing the brie and gorgonzola in the supermarket (bliss!) .....and DH already has strict instructions to supply me with a large glass of champagne and a plate of the smelliest blue cheeses after the birth of our child!!!

I totally agree with you Minnie, I don't want to take any risk but then I'm not a big drinker anyway. I am avoiding everything advised by my midwife even McDonalds chocolate shakes

Everyone is different but if you feel the need to relax with a glass of wine and your doctor has advised it's ok then you should not be told by someone you don't even know that you are wrong!

I had my 12 week scan last week and baby was jumping around, apparently because my bladder was so full (waited 40 minutes past appointment time) so I had better empty it often to avoid a child with behavioural problems?

i agree...everthing in moderation. I had 1-2 glases of wine a week with DD1 and she is fantastically healthy and bright. However, my mother drank brandies and gin, smoked like a trooper and ate whatever she felt like.. all the way through all 3 pregnancies and we're all perfectly healthy. I think that we are bombarded with too much info, much of it conflicting, no wonder we're so frightened of everything. We should just get on with it.. after all women have been giving birth forever.

I had a LOT of stress in my last pregnancy. My father contracted cancer and died within 6weeks. I have a massive phobia of flying and had to fly home twice. I changed jobs and was tasked with dpoing something very unpleasant and difficult. I also had to endure a slipped disc and SI joint dysfunction. I knew I was very very stressed and did a bit of research and found that there is evidence that stress during pg can be linked to Cleft Pallette and hyperactivity in children. I was prescribed mild sedatives to get me on the plane and had the odd glass of red wine to calm me down. I specifically remember my dd kicking wildly in my tummy during a very traumatic part of my Dad's funeral.

DD does not seem affected by this difficult pg and so far seems very bright. During pg I avoided all caffiene and artifical sweetners and I could say that drinking tea and coffee while pg is as bad as smoking but I won't.

Didn't see the programme but like most people have done my fair share of worrying about the various bits of "research" thrown at us during pregnancy. Clearly we can't take it all as gospel or we wouldn't go out of the house (oh hang on, that would be not enough exercise...) I looked at the RCOG website where there's a paper dated March 2006 which has reviewed all the various studies on alcohol and preganancy. (Hopefully more objective than a telly programme). Haven't read it all (it is pretty heavy!) but general conclusion appears to be: Studies in the area are confusing and conflicting since there are many other factors to be taken into account and peoples own reporting of their alcohol consumption is unreliable. Obviously binge or problem drinking is a big no-no. Although total abstinence may be the safest course, it remains the case that there is no evidence of harm from but nevertheless there remains no real evidence that infrequent, low level alcohol consumption - especially once first trimester is over. Guess that's reassuring (ish).

oops - last bit should read "no evidence of harm from infrequent, low level alcohol consumption" - must stop putting chardonnay on my cornflakes!!!

My DD was conceived on honeymoon. All Inclusive, drunk every night for 2 weeks. As I still had my implant in I didn't think there was any chance od me being pg, so on my rtn went to 3 leaving do's, and one HUGE weekender- was also on at least 20 a day at the time. Found out I was pg at about 8 weeks and spent the next 6 mths in a state of panic (had also had the Anthrax Innoculation a week before my wedding)........ DD is fine, was born early and small - but both a result of Pre-Ex and no lasting effects.

Have to say that no matter what, people will always have problems. When I was pg a friend of a friend completely bawled me out for have 1 drag on my DH ciggy and a slice of cake with alcohol essence in it at friends B Day party. She was also pg and did EVERYTHING she was told to, and avoided anything slightly sus. Her kiddie has allergies, asthmna and is very small - and yet she was perfect mother.

Sometimes it's just the luck of the draw.......