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Pregnancy

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

Original poster

Anyone else told by MW that the ruling is now no alcohol in pregnancy?

157 replies

incy · 04/12/2006 14:15

At my booking in appointment my MW told me the guidelines on alcohol in pregnancy had changed (although still to be updated) and that no alcohol at all should be consumed. Didn't drink at all last time so not a huge concern but wondered if anyone else was told this ?

OP posts:
BahHunkBug · 05/12/2006 13:59

This is the story I posted - can't find the thread now though

BahHunkBug · 05/12/2006 14:02

I'm always amazed at how people can't have fun unless they've had a couple of drinks either - weird, IMO.

flutturkey · 05/12/2006 14:09

I suspect that if MN had been around at the time when they started saying No smoking during pg then their would have been women posting things like "Oh in some countries they actively encourage smoking while pg" and "well I smoked and it never caused any harm" and "I bet this is coming from America"

9 months ladies its not that long and unless you are an alcholic it won't be any kind of problem for you surely.

poppynic · 05/12/2006 14:14

Oh flutterky - maybe I am an alcoholic but I'm pregnant and the "morning" sickness means I don't even feel like alcohol but I'm really missing the enjoyment of that yummy glass of wine at the end of the day.

meysey · 05/12/2006 14:16

Our mothers never knew about any of this (my mother drank plenty of gin) and most of us turned out OK.

I think moderation is the key here. I don't fancy alcohol much in pregnancy anyway, but the very occasional glass of champagne is a tonic.

In Italy they ban women from eating salad and test them once a month for toxoplasmosis! There's always some health issue round the corner....

zippitippitoes · 05/12/2006 14:24

I think thirty or forty or fifty years ago women didn't generally drink anything like the amount they do now..it's so cheap now hence the "problem" is much greater

Pruni · 05/12/2006 14:42

Message withdrawn

twelvedaysofchristmas · 05/12/2006 15:33

Women 40 and 50 years ago also didn't consume the amount of artificial additives that we consume either and generally had healthier lives (to a point) as they walked everywhere and did manual housework which kept them fit. They needed the suet puddings and lardy cakes to keep their energy up and would have been less likely to drink to excess the way women nowadays do.

I don't feel like I need to have a drink to have a good time when I'm out, however it IS incredibly tedious to spend more than a few hours in the COMPANY of drinkers, if you're not drinking yourself. I've been tending to leave early these days... People are so dull when they start to get messy. (Yes I have done it myself many times, so I'm not being judgemental.) I actually prefer to have the odd Baileys at home (because I like the taste of it) and likewise glasses of wine with dinner becuase the wine compliments the meal. It's nothing more sinister than that.

I take my hat off to people who don't mind being abstemious. I'm just not that kind of person.

zippitippitoes · 05/12/2006 15:35

also wine is much stronger than it was

Juicythe2ndnotsowiseman · 05/12/2006 15:37

I've been drinking alcohol free beer because I miss the taste of beer. Not the feeling I got from drinking it.

It's not as good, but it beats drinking flippin' water all the time!

ditto sober in the company of drinkers. That'll teach us for having only alcoholics as friends 12DOC!

twelvedaysofchristmas · 05/12/2006 15:42

I know. Actually, my mates were ok at the weekend. (Most likely becuase the hideously priced bar we were in watered down the spirits.)

However, I find work dos appalling. People are blotto by 8pm, having started boozing at 5. I generally leave by 9 as I can't take the boredom any longer.

MistletoeGolightly · 05/12/2006 15:45

I think it's just the NHS being ultra careful and risk-averse; if they say "moderate drinking is ok" there's sure to someone who thinks moderate drinking is 5 units a day, every day, and then sues saying that they were told drinking was ok.

Interestingly, on the subject of avoiding binges, I was told by a Swedish paediatrician (not in a medical consultation, just in conversation) that he thinks the occasional binge does less harm to a foetus than low level drinking every day. Don't know if this is medically proven or just his opinion. We were also drinking at the time so he may not have been at his most professional hem hem.

cc21 · 05/12/2006 15:55

My mum is a MW and advises no more than a couple of units a weeks. She said its the Yanks that say 'no alcohol' at all in pregnancy. I think moderationa is the key here..

BrummieOnTheRun · 05/12/2006 16:06

I just think it would be nice to be treated as a half intelligent human being (just half!), have the current research & risks explained and be left to make my own mind up. yes, I know that's unworkable!

On a serious point though, the list of banned foods/drinks is getting ridiculous. Every pregnancy (on my 3rd), something new's been added. It was bloody pineapple this time! Surely you'd have to eat your own bodyweight in pineapple to miscarry?!!

Women are starting to cut key nutrients out of their diets because of over-blown risk factors. A friend cut all eggs out of her diet. The problem with banning all foods that have the slightest risk is that women lose sight of the really dangerous foods to avoid.

turkEgyptlets · 05/12/2006 16:09

in my maternity notes (derbyshire) it advises no more than 1 unit a DAY. is this a misprint?!

Waswondering · 05/12/2006 16:13

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

twelvedaysofchristmas · 05/12/2006 16:23

Pineapple? WTF?? I DO eat my own bodyweight in pineapple some days. I have it all the time with breakfast. Never heard that EVER. How bizarre. (Though frankly, I ignore most of that stuff anyway. Still eat soft eggs etc.)

Oh here's something on pineapple. Looks like a load of old you know what to me. Pineapple in Pregnancy

And one unit a day? Seems the NHS can't even get their facts straight.

Gemmasmummy · 05/12/2006 16:23

Re. the story posted by BahHunkbug - it sounds very alarming, but if the 40 women in the trial are typical of the population as a whole, then a large percentage of us would have some sort of hyperactivity disorder! Talking to my friends who have had babies, none of them are heavy drinkers, but I would say that about half had drunk one unit of alcohol or more a week. And is there any proof that these "spasms" in the womb translate into hyperactivity in later life? How do they make that connection? Some more research needs to be done on how those children are affected later on.

Gemmasmummy · 05/12/2006 16:23

Re. the story posted by BahHunkbug - it sounds very alarming, but if the 40 women in the trial are typical of the population as a whole, then a large percentage of us would have some sort of hyperactivity disorder! Talking to my friends who have had babies, none of them are heavy drinkers, but I would say that about half had drunk one unit of alcohol or more a week. And is there any proof that these "spasms" in the womb translate into hyperactivity in later life? How do they make that connection? Some more research needs to be done on how those children are affected later on.

lazyemma · 05/12/2006 16:29

"I take my hat off to people who don't mind being abstemious"

nods yes, me too I suppose. Except - this:

"I'm always amazed at how people can't have fun unless they've had a couple of drinks either - weird, IMO. "

Good CHRIST! This sort of pious smugness makes me want to down a bottle of lighter fluid with a meths chaster and spend the evening gyrating lewdly in your front garden, BahHunkBug. No need.

lulumama · 05/12/2006 16:42

40 is too small a number to draw a wide ranging conclusion from, IMO and that is a frightening and guilt inducing link to post.

foetal alcohol syndrome is real and proven.....this link is not IMO and scaring women into not drinking or making them feel horrific for having the odd glass of wine is counter productive IMHO. especially for those of us who were told that the odd glass was not an issue in our pregnancies.

wethreebodkinsoforientare · 05/12/2006 16:46

[Guffaw] lazyemma!

I reckon a glass of red wine, with food, is probably fine, if not even beneficial (lowers stress etc.)?

Anchovy · 05/12/2006 16:48

I can confirm that when I had DS (5) and DD (3) at the Portland my obstetrician was remarkably relaxed about drinking. My drinking falls into the "glass of wine with dinner" and she said she was entirely happy with it - her view was that there was a world of difference between that and "vodka and red bull in the pub without having had any tea" type drinking.

With DS I had to be admitted in the early evening for a planned C-section early the next morning and DH and I wentout for supper in the area, and I had a glass of champagne! And extremely enjoyable it was too!

dublindee · 05/12/2006 17:02

I met DP's sis for the first time when I was 2-3 weeks pg with DS when we went to visit her down south.
I didn't know I was pg at the time as I had been taking the pill religiously and we were in no way ttc.
I spent the entire weekend drinking neat citron vodka on the rocks (40% proof) and having a bottle of wine with each meal.
Suffice it to say when I found out I was pg I was overcome with guilt and felt awful.
I hadn't taken folic acid and had drunk like a fish - BAD MAMMY ALREADY!!
Thankfully DS is as bright as a button, happy and healthy - so no lasting damage there.
Having said that I obviously don't advise you all to start drinking citron vodka and wine by the lorry load!!!

LazycowLyinginaManger · 05/12/2006 17:08

Bloody hell. There will be nothing left to drink and eat as a childbearing age woman soon

Fact is that if I had avoided everything completely I'd have been teetotal and on a very restricted diet for about 4 years and slightly less restricted for another 1 year

Three years of trying for a baby, almost a year of pregancy followed by two years of breastfeeding.

It isn't just 9 months because a lot can happen in the very early weeks of pregnancy so to be completely safe you need to abstain from all alcohol and 'unsafe' foods for the entire time you are trying to conceive. For those who aren't trying to conceive but may do so by accident that translates to 'never'.

Ridiculous most of it and pretty unfeasable for anyone who has more than one child or who takes a long time to get pregnant.