Controversial did anyone drink in pregnancy??

[Lmj25]

Not saying I would was just wondering did anyone?

I was 17 weeks before I found out. During those 17 weeks my DH moved to a new job in Canada. I followed him 4 weeks later after our house was sold. There were evenings out with friends and family and weekends away when we were both in Canada. I had a glass of wine or two at all events.
I stopped when the discovery was finally made.

When I had my 2 they said 1 or 2 units once or twice a week.

I didn’t have anything until around 17/18 weeks and then maybe a (measured) small glass once every few weeks or so. Probably less than a bottle of wine the whole pregnancy.

I didn't have a drop during either pregnancy. I also didn't eat anything on the "not recommended" list. I have never smoked. Why would you risk doing anything where there is a chance of harm?

I am 12+3 with my first and I havent had a drink (even at my sisters wedding) as the thought of alcohol turns my stomach 🤢. I plan to see how I feel but if the sickness goes I will probably have the odd glass of wine with dinner

I work with toddlers who have additional needs some of the children's difficulties are due to the parent drinking, taking drugs or not taking folic acid during pregnancy. These children wouldn't have any additional need if the parent hadn't been selfish.

It doesn't effect every child but there are the ones it does and the results are devastating.

I drank and it didn't effect mine. What an ignorant thing to say. That's like saying I smoke and haven't got cancer so it's ok to smoke.

I had the odd glass of wine at the start and before it was common knowledge as I thought that was allowed. But then the health visitor told me I shouldn't have ANY alcohol. (What? Surely a glass of wine with dinner is ok? Nope.) So I stopped.

nothing for my first pregnancy - once I knew I was pregnant. Maybe half a glass every month or so with the second. Small glass occasionally with my third - if we were out for dinner or on a friday night. All 3 fine.

In each case I didn't drink at all in the first 3 months though.

Given you are only 12 weeks, I'd order a non alcoholic beer - no-one will notice the difference. But I wouldn't worry in the least if you did have one glass.

It doesn't effect every child but there are the ones it does and the results are devastating.

Could you point to the research that says some children will have devastating results if their mother had one glass of wine or beer when pregnant?

Didn't expect so much uproar off people I was asking for people's experiences and what choices they have made not the hypocrites to come out and drag me down but by all means if it makes you people feel better.

I had a couple of glasses of red wine during weeks 13-16. After that, nothing. Not sure why I had those glasses and I don't usually drink red wine

Why would you risk doing anything where there is a chance of harm?

Risks are everywhere. You are more at risk from all sorts of potential dangers when you step out of your front door in the morning than you are of eating or drinking something that will cause your baby harm.

Part of being an adult is weighing up risks and how they impact on your own personal cicumstances.

Yep, talked over the medical risks/effects with a doctor friend (who is a specialist in alcoholism).

Felt very comfortable following the French advice of a glass of wine or a G&T, when desired, was fine.

I didn’t know I was pregnant until 11 weeks - had all the valentines / easter / bank holiday weekends etc and was young so was out every weekend drinking so drank like a fish ... once I knew I was pregnant I stopped and only had a baileys hot chocolate at Christmas - daughter was fine - however I wouldn’t have drank like I did if I had known beforehand

Loads before I found out I was pregnant, then 1 or 2 per week, in line with guidelines at the time. I still would tbh.

Could you point to the research that says some children will have devastating results if their mother had one glass of wine or beer when pregnant?

Well it doesn’t exist. The biggest studies so far have been Dutch and show that on a population level low intake is not associated with negative outcomes. You can’t look at one person with one drink and ascribe an effect.

Some people don’t have two copies (some don’t even have one) of the main enzyme that breaks down alcohol so there are big differences in how we process alcohol. So he same consumption level might have very different effects between people.

One, one off drink is not thought to be harmful. The problem is we don’t have a ‘minimum safe level’ (can’t exactly test it out) so we have to run population studies and hope people report intake accurately. So the advice is as it is.

It’s thought a couple of percent (I’ve seen figures between 1 and 3.5%) of babies in the UK are born with alcohol related issues. That’s a lot, for an avoidable item.

We can’t be haranguing pregnant women for a shandy or a sip of fizz at a wedding, that’s not proportionate. At the same time there are plenty of women drinking far too much, and smoking and those are the ones services and help needs to be targeted at.

why do anything with a risk of harm?

Because it’s impossible not to! Getting into a car is riskier than having half a glass of wine but pregnant women do it daily!

It’s entirely possible to be of the opinion that no alcohol is optimum in pregnancy without being sanctimonious and judgemental but these posts always bring out awful women full of smuggery and desperate to ladle on the hyperbole about alcoholism in response to someone wondering if an occasional single drink is ok. It’s ridiculous and only likely to alienate pregnant women. I suspect the judgers don’t care how ineffectual their sanctimony is as they get far more pleasure from the frisson of criticising others and revelling in their own superiority than actually helping anyone.

There is a lot of conflicting advice around. In response to those who say you should follow all the guidelines because ‘if anything went wrong you’d never forgive yourself’, I would point out that if you follow every single guideline your life will be unmanageable. For example, at the start of my second pregnancy the Royal College of Midwives endorsed research recommending that pregnant women did not:

• get into new cars
• get any new furniture
• use non stick pans
• use moisturiser
• use shower gel
• use cosmetics or body lotions

...among a host of other crazy, unworkable and crucially unevidenced guidelines.

For me, that pregnancy ended in miscarriage and I was left wondering which of the myriad things I could have done wrong had caused it. Of course, it wasn’t my fault (and no, I didn’t drink a drop of alcohol due to the terrible sickness anyway).

I think if you are the type of person to label a pregnant woman having a glass of wine every now and again as a selfish alcoholic, that says far more about your own lack of imagination and empathy not to mention a very rigid kind of stupidity.

Make up your own mind, OP, but please ignore the more dramatic replies!

Over 3 pregnancies in the mid to late 00's I had a few glasses of wine that is all - not weekly that is over the three pregnancies but the drinks were all at events/ nights out. So once when I was very obviously pregnant a barman did not want to serve me a single glass of wine. Which I was planning to follow up with soda water. I was probably 7-8 months along. It was on a very rare night out during my first pregnancy, I had not touched a drop in months but I fancied one glass of red wine. The judgement I got from that bar man, not my friends who knew me, knew I was only having one glass and would not have another and that I had been teetotal for ages, was both irritating and discomforting. I did not feel it was my place to explain or justify my actions to this stranger, but he clearly felt I had to. He probably felt like he was a fucking hero protecting my unborn son from his feckless mother. Whereas I got an urge to just smoke some crack and down a bottle of jack Daniels to really earn his disapproval! Ugh.

To the sanctimonious posts "if you can't be teetotal for 9 months then you better ring AA" I say that is bollocks and if you judge a visibly preggers person for having one drink do it silently - unless of course they are chasing the dragon/ downing bottles of gin! 😁

I haven't so far as I was too ill during my first trimester to even consider it. I may have a sip of red tonight as it's DP's birthday and we're going for steak, and probably a glass of prosecco at my sisters wedding in a few months. Other than that I haven't felt the need or want for a drink.

On 3rd pregnancy.
First - nothing for 12 weeks then odd glass of wine
Second - nothing for 12 weeks then small glass wine every fortnight
Third - nothing for 12 weeks but now enoying odd half glass once a week\10 days

I'd probably have a glass of champagne to celebrate something (birthday, wedding, Christmas etc) but I'm avoiding everything else. I'm not a regular drinker (i was a classic binge drinker - once a month heavy session but nothing in between) so I'm not really interested in wine with dinner or a beer after work or anything. I might look at the low alcohol ciders for when I go on my summer holiday but that's about it!
Each to their own!

I hope that the people who have posted extreme judgemental views have not done any of the following during pregnancy: been overweight, eaten a lot of processed meat, neglected to eat a varied diet, got in a car, been sedentary, touched a cat, taken paracetamol ...

I didn't and am not now I'm pregnant again but I did loads of painting and decorating and moving stuff last time I was pregnant which is probably far worse!

Really looking forward to that lovely glass of wine at the end of this pregnancy!

To be honest it's not really bothered me massively and I think the worry would spoil it so I haven't bothered. Try some non alcoholic beers like Becks Blue. Really nice alternative and if in a glass nobody will know!

I had 4 glasses with my last , more with the previous 3 as guidelines were different

Couple of glasses of wine a week with both DC.

Precisely, INeed - I didn’t drink at all in my third (successful) pregnancy because of my hyperemesis but my exclusive diet of salt ‘n vinegar crisps and lemonade as the only things I didn’t bring back up immediately does not feature on any guide to nutrition for a pregnant woman. Aiming for the ‘perfect’ pregnancy is futile and whatever risks we choose to avoid, we will all do something that someone else could sit in judgement over us for.