Drinking alcohol in 1st trimester

[prtchrd]

Hi,

So I found out that I'm pregnant with my first baby yesterday and I'm 4 weeks and 3 days pregnant. However, I had absolutely no idea that I was pregnant so, before I found out, I was going out drinking alcohol and fairly frequently as well.

I'm HORRIFIED. Of course, I would never knowingly drink alcohol when pregnant. So my question is: will the alcohol I've been drinking have harmed the baby already? Will it make me more likely to miscarry? I'm 22 so my chance of miscarrying is fairly low (I hope!).

Thanks

I wouldn't worry. I had a really heavy weekend when we had friends staying with us just before I found out I was pregnant. I'd actually tested because I felt really nauseous. It was negative, which I was depressed about, so I drank about 3 bottles of wine over about 3 days that weekend. A few days later, I still felt really nauseous, so I took another test and it was obviously positive. But that early on, baby isn't really getting anything from you at all, so nothing to worry about. I also haven't fully abstained in pregnancy (and didn't with my first pregnancy either). I've had a small glass of wine (just one!) a few times each pregnancy. All fine, healthy pregnancies and healthy babies. Miscarriage unfortunately is random more than anything, so a few drinks won't do much harm. Congrats on your pregnancy.

A few drinks might do harm actually. It's one thing drinking before you know you're pregnant but another entirely when you have tested positive. Miscarriage is one risk but FAS is another and unless I'm mistaken, the quantities of alcohol needed to cause FAS are not known.

Having said that OP, don't beat yourself up about what you did before you know. Just look after yourself from now on.

You and most people!

I found out I was pg the week after I had been to a wedding weekend where I drank champagne, wine, spirits and smoked dope!

Thankfully it was really early like you OP and all was completely fine.

I was the same. I didn't know I was pregnant for about a month. It was just before Christmas so it was a heavy drinking month! I told my GP and she told me not to worry and obviously stop straight away. I'm 13 wks and ok so far!

Don't fret lovely millions of people have been in this situation I'm sure of it- it's just one of those things! I'm sure your baby is absolutely fine! Congratulations

Please don’t worry I wrote a similar post years ago and was reassured by lots of lovely ladies but still worried myself sick that I’d done damage but by extremely bright and beautiful 5 yo dd shows that I needn’t have worried and neither should you op

Please don't beat yourself up about this. I did as I went out and got hammered about a week before I found out I was pregnant- test said 2-3 weeks. I'd felt a bit weird that week but thought I was just tired and still went out as I'd given up hope of ever getting pregnant. I beat myself up a lot about that but my dd is nearly 5 now and fine

Every single one of my friends got drunk before knowing they were pregnant (and myself!), all healthy babies!

Please stop worrying about that. 70% of miscarriages occur because of chromosomal abnormalities, and the vast majority of the rest because of hormonal disorders, infections, etc - meaning, it's mostly out of our control. The risks alcohol related - and I'm not talking binge drinking for the whole pregnancy obviously - are enormously overblown. I have read A LOT of medical studies as I had strong anxiety about risks in my pregnancy and when you go to the sources and see the numbers you understand how out of proportion things tend to be. It's like "a Danish study from the 90's finds a 1,6 increase in miscarriage when you have 4 drinks per week" (this is a real one btw...); and this leads to a headline in the Daily Mail like: "if you have 2 glasses of wine per week, you're more likely to kill your baby". It's about common sense IMO.

Congrats on your pregnancy, and relax! Xxx