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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:
SamboM · 16/05/2003 12:04

I didn't drink at all for the first 4 months, then 2 glasses of wine 2 or 3 times a week. Once I had 3 glasses.

BigBird · 16/05/2003 12:16

I'm interested reading some of the comments about the foetus not getting nourishment from your bloodstream till 6 weeks or more.....

My question is : when you were ttc'ing did you cut out/down alcohol for the week or more before your period "just in case". I find I am doing that now and am avoiding going out tonight "just in case".
Saying that I will go out tomorrow and have a 'few' but I am cutting down by about 50% in the 2nd half of my cycle. Do I need to ??
If and when I test positive I will give up TOTALLY till 12 weeks and then enjoy a one or two beers/wine each week

ZsaZsa · 16/05/2003 18:40

In my country is not so much a problem. The best of the booze is offer to the pregnant woman

Original poster
Mog · 16/05/2003 20:59

Really weird to see this thread resurrected as I started it when I was pregnant and am now breastfeeding ds, who seems absolutely perfect despite moderate alcohol intake!

OP posts:
Rhubarb · 17/05/2003 17:13

Wills, I agree that the medical advice now given is that no alcohol should be consumed during the first 12 weeks as that is when the nervous system and the brain are being developed. That said I couldn't give up entirely and I didn't know that advice with my first, and she turned out just fine. Now that I do know, I'm drinking about 2 units a week, sometimes less, until I'm 12 weeks, then I might let myself have a bit more.

After all, I don't smoke so I feel I'm entitled to some sort of relaxant!

Wills · 18/05/2003 11:54

Rhubarb - Oh I so now what you mean. I went to a barbecue last night and watched everyone else get drunk. In the end I succumbed to a few sips of my dh's beer (it was raining, I was cold, my dd was running amuck AND the barbecue didn't look entirely safe cooking (if you know what I mean)) and another pregnant mum's husband spent the rest of the party staring at me. His wife of course was on the obligatory diet coke - felt like pointing out that caffines not that good either!

elliott · 18/05/2003 12:17

I'll just put my hand up here to being another non-absolutist about alcohol in pregnancy. If I'm honest, I probably believe that it is better to abstain completely, but in the scheme of things (i.e. life is not a risk free activity) I think small amounts of alcohol are unlikely to have a measurably effect. The strange thing is I am not a big drinker when not pg, but I do enjoy it and don't want to stop completely. I have about 1 unit maybe twice a week (though last time I went on holiday to France at 28 weeks and it turned into 1 unit every day...)

Oakmaiden · 18/05/2003 15:25

Since the tuna fish thing was mentioned earlier in the thread, I thoght i would stick in a couple more up to date links.

www.food.gov.uk/healthiereating/advice_for_you/pregnancy/
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2772005.stm

basically, current advise is to limit tuna intake to 2 medium cans of tuna a week. just for the record.

NQWWW · 19/05/2003 12:58

I'm now 24 weeks and having the odd glass of wine (2 this weekend). Find I can feel the effects after only a few sips - tingly arms etc - so I don't need more than a glass to feel happily relaxed.

JanZ · 20/05/2003 11:18

I agreed with my GP that I would teach ds-to-be quality in utero - ie, I reduced the quantity, but upped the quality of what I drank!

I did cut out all alcohol between weeks 6 and 10 though.

Rachael17 · 27/05/2003 02:21

i had a whiskey and coke in the pub to celebrate my mates birthday
would that do anyharm its the only alcohol ive had since 2 1/2 months ago
an to be honest i felt lightheaded after half a glass

Ghosty · 27/05/2003 03:40

As I wasn't trying for a baby when I got pg with DS I used to get pretty p*ed every weekend ... He was and is fine ...
After I found out I drank the odd glass with dinner ... found it harder to give up the ciggies though ... but managed to smoke my last one at 6 weeks.
As for TTC ... I tried to abstain from alcohol when we first started trying but that was 6 months ago and after about 3 months I couldn't be bothered! Not that I drink anywhere near the amount I did before 'mummyhood'. In fact it seemed that it was going to take a long time to get pg that I had just got my head around forgetting it and not stressing that last night I had a bottle of champagne with DH to celebrate the fact that DS and I now have NZ Residency.
This morning I did a pg test ... ooooooooopsy daisy

Ghosty · 27/05/2003 03:42

Having said that ... I will now give up totally as a) in NZ it is regarded as a total no no and b) I had an m/c last year and if I have another one I don't want to go down the 'If only I hadn't had any alcohol' route ......

Rhubarb · 28/05/2003 22:34

Rachael, I would steer clear of spirits if I were you, since they're all quite concentrated in alcohol. The advice is the less alcohol the better. Stick to halves or a glass of wine. Whiskey is yuck anyway - how can you drink it???

Rachael17 · 30/05/2003 02:53

thank you for ur advice
ive completely stopped drinkin and i havent had a ciggy for 2 months im so proud but quitting was easy once i found out i was pg. i still crave them from time to time any body else suffering from that
how do u cope??

Rhubarb · 30/05/2003 14:12

Can't say I crave ciggies as I've never smoked, but I do crave alcohol! There is no easy solution I'm afraid. However pubs are now just starting to cater for teetotals, when I was first pregnant there was nothing but tiny Britvic oranges and tomato juice, but now they have these bottles of J20 which look like alcopops, but are delicious mixes of fruit juice! I can happily drink those.
Also you could get bottles of non-alcoholic wine to have at home. I don't like them as most are too sweet, but worth a try.
Now I'm over 12 weeks I do allow myself around 3 units a week which I think is reasonable. Just remember that it won't last forever and you're doing your liver a favour!

aloha · 30/05/2003 14:25

I used to find the odd sip from dh's glass just about every night helped me get through - I just really love the taste of red wine. Also (bad mummy!) I had to admit I craved the slightly swimmy feeling of having a drink, so I'd have a small glass of wine sometimes, before lunch, say at a riverside pub, which did the trick a lot better than the same glass, at night with a meal. Made me feel as if I'd had a few, pre-preg style. And I drove everywhere, so being sober had double value - not only was I preserving the health of my child in saint-type fashion, but I could save money on taxis. It is very, very hard. All my friends say it is the worst thing about being pregnant (which says a lot about my friends, I'm sure). On holiday in Greece at 7months I had a small glass of wine every night with dinner and it was lovely. Ds seems comparatively normal!

Wills · 30/05/2003 15:52

Ohhhhh - I so miss wine. Luckily I've gone off red, can't even stand the smell of it but unfortunately still want white. Now that the evenings are longer and with weather like today, how lovely it would be to go home and relax with a glass (or two) of chilled white wine. My problem is that I'm nervous I wouldn't call a stop at 1, but still sip from dh's glass if he's having anything.

Rachael17 · 30/05/2003 16:47

was speaking to a friend earlier apparently her mum drank a pint of guiness everyotherday wen she was pg with her.
my friend is like a genius child so maybe guiness makes for clever babies

Katherine · 02/06/2003 09:22

After my 2 SIL's sat there one day blowing cigarette smoke in my face and lecturing me because I want to have a glass of port and lemonage I decided... sod this, as long as I'm careful it can't hurt... so now I just don't worry. Not that I drink much you understand but the odd glass isn't going to do any harm. As long as you don't have major binging sessions all the time I think its good to have the odd tipple. Helps you relax.

StripyMouse · 02/06/2003 10:24

Katherine - i am totally with you on this one. I don?t smoke (gave up 6 months before dd1 was conceived) and my dh also stopped at birth of dd (quite remarkable as he has smoked for over 2 decades very heavily - power of love for you) During my first pregnancy i avoided all alcohol and caffeine rigorously. This time I avoided it for 3 months and now have the occasional cup of tea and the odd glass of wine. Keeps me relaxed and is a lot better for me than smoking (I think/hope!)
One question (sorry of the thread topic) - I can?t stand oily fish at the mo and am worried about my lack of omega 3s - is there anything else I can eat that doesn?t involve fish or pills?

nobby · 02/06/2003 10:27

Stripymouse
This does involve pills (but not oily fish) - try flaxseed capsules. No fishy aftertaste (bleugh).

Katherine · 02/06/2003 14:53

Stripymouse - I don't eat oily fish either and I don't think either of my kids have suffered any adverse effects. However I think you can buy capsules which have the stuff from the oily fish which is meant to be good for you. Think they are called efanatal or something. Boots sell them. I did try them with my first pg but didn't bother after that as I think these things are a bit gimmiky. I think if your diet is pretty healthy then you'll be doing a lot better than and lot of people anyway.

Rhubarb · 02/06/2003 15:48

Rachael, I drank Guinness with my dd and I think she's a genius too! Apparently they used to prescribe it in Ireland for expectant mothers - that would account for the Irish being like they are I suppose!

I also get v.annoyed at people who question me drinking, but then choose to light up in front of me! Dh is guilty of this, he doesn't believe in passive smoking much and the other night we were out (first time in 6 weeks), I was on fruit juice and really struggling, and he wanted a roll-up. We had a row. I just really object to him drinking and smoking in front of me, why can't he be more supportive?

Rachael17 · 02/06/2003 20:37

i know wat u mean about the smoking thing
my b/f never used to smoke much jus socially but since i found out i was pg he smokes more often
it does my head in esp wen im really cravin a ciggy