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Pregnancy

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

Original poster

Alcohol in pregnancy

84 replies

Mog · 24/08/2002 14:57

Just wondered what people thought about this. I didn't have any first time round but I'm being a bit more relaxed with the second pregnancy - odd beer at the weekend. Do people think it a definite no-no or is some acceptable?

OP posts:
Lollypop · 27/08/2002 20:57

Zebra I hope tinned tuna is ok, I'vre eaten loads of it.
Enid I recommend twix bars or treacle tart & custard!

bossykate · 27/08/2002 21:22

i ate loads of tuna! i thought it would be good because of all the omega 3 fatty acids. why are you supposed to avoid it? i don't remember coming across that particular one before.

SofiaAmes · 27/08/2002 21:41

Tuna and any other oily fish is super good when pregnant!!!Fatty acids are turning out to be the key to all sorts of things, intelligence, long life etc.

Enid · 27/08/2002 22:26

God I haven't eaten any oily fish this time, just the thought of tuna etc makes me heave.

I had a glass of wine tonight but could only drink a couple of sips and am now seriously on the Gaviscon

Is it worse to drink when you are breastfeeding? I want dp to bring in a large vodka and tonic after I've had the baby... Are you still supposed to avoid alcohol altogether?

Thanks for all the Honeycomb Aero substitutes, couldn't find the Star Bars but managed to source a Toffee Crisp, mmm...still bad indigestion, the only sweet thing that seems to be ok are Muller Fruit corner yogurts which I am pigging for England

Emmalou · 28/08/2002 13:00

Mog, I am on my second pregnancy and have a few glasses of wine a week without problems. On holiday, I happily had a glass most days. My first pregnancy was more or less the same and I have a healthy 2.5 yr old. No doubt you've read some of the stuff floating around about alcohol in pregnacy. I have investigated this somewhat and feel that the data available concludes that a bottle of wine or equiv a day will definately harm your baby (der!) but other than that there is no evidence to suggest drinking is a problem. Basically, wine is a healthy part of our diet and if not abused will go a long way to a happier pregnancy and baby.

CAM · 28/08/2002 13:51

Regarding foods in pregnancy, I ate loads of spinach, eggs and mackerel while pregnant with dd2. I wanted iron, iron, more iron and the fish fatty acids and more iron! dd2 however has a "sensitivity" to eggs, detests spinach (although loves all other greens) but luckily does like oily fish. Wonder if I overdid the first two - I had an almost everyday craving for them (strange woman).

Lindy · 28/08/2002 14:03

I drank my usual 3-4 glasses per day for the first 10 weeks of pregnancy - I had no idea I was pregnant!! The fact that I then couldn't face wine alerted me to the fact that there might be something 'ususual' going on!! I then literally couldn't stomach wine for a couple of months but for the last three months or so had a glass most evenings - and whilst breast feeding for the record!

SueDonim · 28/08/2002 15:18

Bossykate, the tuna thing was about fresh tuna, which is supposed to have too much mercury in it (from pollution of the sea), but tinned tuna is apparently okay.

bossykate · 29/08/2002 19:29

Thanks for that, Suedonim. Wouldn't you think tinned tuna would have the same levels? Will have to catch up on the latest recommendations if/when no 2 is on the horizon.

Bozza · 29/08/2002 20:50

Yeah I couldn't see why tinned tuna would be different to fresh in this respect.

SueDonim · 30/08/2002 09:25

It's to do with the processing, apparently. I've found an article about tuna (and swordfish and shark) here which sheds a bit more light on the subject. HTH.

jessi · 30/08/2002 10:24

I drank during pregnancy with ds, in those days (4 yrs ago) I think it was ok to have one unit per night. I didn't drink every night at all, but on holiday I would have one small beer every evening. It actually wasn't a problem for me then as I didn't really have a drinking habit then.. that arrived when I was b/f and someone said it was OK to have a glass of wine. I then took wine up, having never drunk it before and hey ho, here we are a few years later and my goblet of wine a night is my treat once ds is in bed. Think I'm going to have a tough time giving it up when we try for another baby!

roberta · 15/05/2003 12:08

Just wanted to resurrect this as I have a friend whose just found out she's pregnant - 6 weeks - and last weekend went on a total bender at a hen night - at least a bottle of champers went down, plus a couple of cocktails. Now she's terrified she's harmed the baby in some way. I'm sure I drunk too much before I found out... did others?

motherinferior · 15/05/2003 12:26

I was in total denial for first 4 weeks last time and downed masses of booze. Marked 37th birthday with half-bottle of champers followed by positive test. DD is the most beautiful and alert child i've ever met. Chill.

aloha · 15/05/2003 13:03

As I understand it, the placenta & unbelical cord isn't really formed at six weeks so the baby isn't getting nourishment from your alcohol soaked bloodstream anyway this early. The foetus is so tiny it's just having the odd floating cell and blood from the womb lining. The thinking is that if anything damaged the foetus at this early stage it would either spontaneously abort or survive absolutely untouched so the fact that she's pregnant shows she's fine. The number of babies that are conceived under the effects of a vat of wine doesn't bear thinking about.

scoobysnax · 15/05/2003 13:31

I drank wine during the middle part of my pregnancy - 2 glasses most days. Doctors were outraged about this and treated me as if I were a bad and irresponsible person.
My midwives told me that their professional association says 1 glass a day is fine.
2 glasses a day was fine for me and dd is perfect or near as damn it!
You will find some folk who think drinking when pregnant is evil, but it's not (IMO anyway)

Meid · 15/05/2003 14:00

I had just got back from a long weekend in Dublin when I found out I was pregnant. I was drunk the whole weekend.
I looked into it at the time I think Aloha is right that at that stage in pregnancy the feotus is simply not fully dependant on the mother for nourishment. I think full dependancy comes at about 12 weeks.

Rhubarb · 15/05/2003 15:14

Good on you Scoobysnax! I too drank like a fish before I found out I was preggers. Then I had about 2 or 3 units a week. This time I am having 1 unit a week until I'm 12 weeks when I will raise my allowance to 2 or 3 units. My dd is now very bright by the way, is ahead of her age in conversational skills, can count to 16 and is just beginning to recognise letters, she'll be 3 in July. So in my experience, a little alcohol does absolutely no harm whatsoever!

aloha · 15/05/2003 16:13

My ds can recognise and say his colours (blue, red, yellow, purple and green) and count to five and he is 20months and enjoys wine almost as much as his mam (ahem). My dh used to say that he thought it was good for him to get used to the good stuff in the womb. Really NOT sure about this as medical advice.

ThomCat · 15/05/2003 16:19

Drink away Mog (in moderation anyway). I drank in preganancy and so has every mother I know! Have a nice chilled glass of white for me too while you're there, cheers!

Wills · 15/05/2003 16:21

OK, I'm going to play devil's advocate and argue both sides here - sorry . I always thought that since during the first few weeks (most of first trimester) the placenter and cord weren't formed properly that I could get away with eating and drinking normally. However when I spoke to an obsetrician he explained that's it during the first few months that the genetic code is laid down and that its through those months that damage could happen. Later on in pregnancy the baby is merely growing, putting fat on and finishing bits off etc etc. Saying that most books/articles seem to say that if you drank like a fish before you found out you were pregnant then that's ok and not to worry. I drank through my last pregnancy and unfortunately lost it - which has made me super dupa cautious this time because I'm feeling guilty.

The way I saw it in the end is that I know that the alcohol goes across the placenta to the baby, that's fact. I don't however know how much goes across (does anyone know? Haven't had time to investigate) but I don't allow my 3yr old dd to drink alcohol. Until I find out how much goes across I decided that since I would be horrified to give my dd a glass of alcohol I probably shouldn't do the same to a child even younger than her. Luckily the smell of red wine is currently disgusting to me (used to drink like a fish)but oh boy am I missing white - so if anyone does have figures about how much goes across I'd be very grateful to know them.

In terms of your friend I suspect its long term exposure that is harmful rather than a single binge

whymummy · 15/05/2003 18:36

i came back from a long holiday to find out i was 5 weeks pregnant,not only i drank every single night but i was also taking malaria tablets at the time,no harm done to the baby but i did worry till he was born

Claireandrich · 15/05/2003 21:24

I had the odd drink here and there but never more than a glass at a time. I used to make the most of that one drink on a night out though. Told Dh that if I could only have one it had to be a good one - normally a lovely glass of chilled champagne. Figured if it was dearer, who cares - Dh's for the night would be more!

Lindy · 15/05/2003 22:15

I also didn't find out I was pregnant for 10 weeks - due to my age I thought it was the start of the menopause - ha ha - and I certainly drank during that time, I then went 'off' alcohol altogether for the next 3 months but by the last 3 I was drinking a glass of wine most nights ...... and my DS loves wine & beer now - I do allow him the odd slurp!!

Linnet · 15/05/2003 22:17

I was 9 weeks gone when I found out I was pregnant and was a bit worried as I'd had my work's christmas night out a couple of weeks before I found out. I was so very very drunk at my works night out and was a bit worried for a while. After I found out I didn't drink much at all. The odd glass of wine here and there and dd is fine.
IMO so long as you're not downing 3 bottles of vodka a day then a little drink now and then won't do any harm.