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Pregnancy

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

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Original poster

DRINKING IN PREGNANCY

66 replies

mumzyof2 · 31/08/2007 22:20

i was just wondering how much ,if any, people drink alcohol. i know your not meant to drink any, but i have to admit that i love my wine, and have half a glass of wine, mixed with half a glass of lemonade,maybe every other night. Is this too much? Do all other mums stop completely?
Im also struggling with the caffiene thing, i had my son three yrs ago, and i was told not to drink it to excess, but now we have a limit. I love coffee, but just had to buy de-caff!

OP posts:

bookthief · 31/08/2007 22:24

The official advice is now none in pregnancy (I just crept in under the wire there ). I didn't have more than 2 units a week - keep an eye on your glass sizes as it can be hard to judge a unit if you're drinking at home.

How about trying halving the amount of wine you put in the glass and just adding more lemonade? I drank white or rose wine with soda and found that I really only needed a splash of wine to give me the flavour.

(btw, this subject tends to go a bit tits up after a while - you have been warned)

Original poster

mumzyof2 · 31/08/2007 22:26

tits up? in what way?

OP posts:

bookthief · 31/08/2007 22:29

There have been a fair few very long, fighty threads about this in the past .

Re: the caffeine, I limited myself to a cup of filter coffee first thing in the morning (could no way give that one up) and a cup of instant at work. I never got on with decaf. The guidelines for caffeine are quite generous though iirc. There's no reason for you to cut out altogether unless you want to.

Original poster

mumzyof2 · 31/08/2007 22:32

i was just wondering if other mums have cut alcohol out all together?

OP posts:

LittleBella · 31/08/2007 22:37

mumzy it doesn't matter what other mothers do. Have faith and confidence in yourself. The new guidelines have only been produced because government doesn't trust mothers anymore to be able to tell the difference between half a glass of wine and a bottle of vodka, not because there has been one single scrap of new evidence produced since the old ones were introduced.

Relax!

didsnbump · 31/08/2007 22:47

I know the alcohol subject is a very touchy subject but at the end of the day its your own decision what u do.

I can agree with u completely about loving your wine as i can drink red till it comes out of my ears. I havent given it up completely but save it till the weekend, especially so that when all my friends are drinking a can at least have the odd glass.

My life pre-pg was spent out drinking or round friends drinking so stopping has been difficult but, this might sound bad, now i know i cant get drunk, i only have alcohol if its red wine and i only have two glasses at the most twice a week, if there isnt any red wine where i am i will have a soft drink instead!!

derah · 01/09/2007 14:30

I won't touch a drop while I'm preggers but then I don't really drink anyway when I'm not pg. Don't see what the fuss is about and really don't understand the booze culture in this country. With the amount people drink I'm amazed anyone can function!

MerlinsBeard · 01/09/2007 14:36

the official guidelines are now NO units per week. when i booked in my MW said that up to 3 units a week is the limit. And in any case, the MW recommened, off record, guiness for my iron levels last time and it worked

Peachy · 01/09/2007 14:37

I'll have a spritzer maybe Christmas, new Year, Anniversary whilst pg. Anything more would seem to much. Every other night does seem a bit ot. maybe once a week?

j20baby · 01/09/2007 14:42

mumzyof2-i sometimes have 2 or 3 drinks when i'm out but then go for weeks without drinking, its a case of personal choice.

i personally don't think your overdoing it.

re coffee, up to 3 cups a day, but normally only 1

Rhubarb · 01/09/2007 14:45

Good grief you hardly drink at all! Half a glass of wine is not going to make any difference whatsoever. I used to drink a pint of Guinness every now and then when pregnant with both of mine.

I can't say about coffee as I'm not a coffee drinker, I used to have perhaps a cup of tea a day.

The official advice on alcohol is that none is safest because every baby is different and some might be affected by alcohol more than others. But half a glass of wine every other day is negligible.

PigeonPie · 01/09/2007 14:53

When I was pg with DS I just couldn't face drinking alcohol, coffee or tea. This time have continued to drink one or two cups of coffee and weak tea a day (at the most) and I have had half a glass of wine with Sunday lunch occasionally.

I haven't drunk to excess in years (you don't when you have to get up the next morning!) so I figure that a little, occasionally, is going to be ok.

fleacircus · 01/09/2007 15:02

I didn't drink at all for first 14wks - until dating scan - but I'm now much more relaxed about it. I've had the odd glass of champagne at special occasions (a hen night, an anniversary and a wedding) and occasional drinks in between, either the odd glass of wine at home or at a restaurant, or at the pub what I call a 'shandy shandy' - 1/4 pint beer to 3/4 pint lemonade.

For me it's more about ritual than alcohol, so Cobra Zero is good for nights when I want to swig beer from the bottle and that Summer Punch plus is ok if others are drinking Pimms, and virgin cocktails are fine as long as then come in a proper glass and not a dodgy tumbler.

berolina · 01/09/2007 15:18

I do think half a glass of wine every other night is a bit much, tbh (although unlikely to cause FAS). In my two pgs (that went to term) I abstained until week 25ish and 20ish respectively and after that had one glass of wine every 2 weeks or so. I feel any more would be too much for me, personally, but the famous one or two units once a week are IMO probably not a problem for some women. If I were you I'd try and go down to once a week, and if you absolutely can't, make sure you are drinking with food.

PregnantGrrrl · 01/09/2007 15:28

I drank nothing at all for the first 4mths both pregnancies, then 2 units a week after that. I drink alot of booze-free beer, which isn't as nice as a real drink, but will do for now. Looking forward to a plastered Xmas though!

ScoobyDooooo · 01/09/2007 15:30

Sorry but i don't agree with smoking or drinking in pregnancy, you only need to give up for 9 months of your life, i think you at least owe this to your unborn baby/child.

Just my opinion though of course

berolina · 01/09/2007 15:37

Scooby, I do think smoking and drinking are completely different issues, tbh.

Every cigarette does harm to the baby; not every unit of alcohol (necessarily) does harm.

ThursdayNext · 01/09/2007 15:56

Doesn't sound like much to me, that makes it 1.5 units a week
I don't really drink when I'm pregnant, but I don't like alcohol that much so it's no sacrifice really
I usually have a couple of cups of coffee a day once I'm over morning sickness and it tastes nice again
Maybe worth being a bit more cautious in the first trimester though?

claraq · 01/09/2007 15:57

I got married while I was pregnant last time round so had a bit of champagne then and on a couple of other occasions. However, I felt like I was doing it just for the sake of it and didn't enjoy it at all. Not because I necessarily disapprove of a bit of alcohol during pregnancy but just that for whatever reason my body just seems to want to reject it. Whether that is psychological or because my body knew it wasn't good for me/baby, I don't know.

This time I have not really drunk at all. Someone I know very well is a pretty heavy drinker and continued to drink probably up to 2 or 3 glasses of wine a night while pregnant and the baby seems fine. But I would not take that risk.

Having said that I personally think the amount you are drinking is fine, if it helps you to relax.

spugs · 01/09/2007 16:03

i have the odd glass (like once every few weeks) but to be honest i cant be bothered, im a whole bottle or nothing at all kind of girl so i dont see the point. plus i just dont feel like it!

aas for caffine dont touch the stuff at the min, firstly cant stand it and secondly it sets of my headaches.

smoking is a big NO, i am a smoker but have always stopped the instant i have suspected pg. hopefully this time i wont be starting again (the ban will help) to be honest i cant understand how people cant stop! its for the good of your child ffs. my friend has just had her first baby and she smoked throughout, she did cut down to one a day however and sometimes cut it out so good on her for that, plus her mw told her that one a day wouldnt make much difference personally i think if the mw had bollocked her she would have stopped altogether!
theres another site and on the antenatal thread for march theres a seperater thread for the smokers!!! they cant seem to understand the damage there doing and the most common excuse is it did no harm with my last one/ when my mum smoked with me! sorry but does male me a bit cross.

spugs · 01/09/2007 16:03

sorry didnt mean to turn it into a rant about smoking

fishie · 01/09/2007 16:09

mumzy that sounds absolutely fine to me. i too like a drink and i did have some when pg. it got less and less though, since can't drink enough to have an effect i found it easier not to start. i did get a serious fizzy water habit which is still with me.

jaynehater · 01/09/2007 16:20

My mum was practically prescribed a half pint of stout a day when pg with me. Old lush. Nothing wrong with me, though.(hic)

Before I realised I was (accidentally) pregnant with dd1, I had wine nightly, and as soon as I found out I was expecting, sweated it about FAS etc - vv. sensible midwife said her worries were more with the 'mothers' under her care that were chugging 6 cans of special brew before dinner, and that the stress I'd put myself through was much more detrimental to the baby than a few bottles of wine at week 3.

I must admit, with both pregnancies, I didn't really abolish much, foodwise. I ate as before, very healthily, and yes, had an occasional glass of wine with dinner. To be honest, I believe to a degree that bad things can happen regardless of the precautions you take,so I tried to go for moderation in all things, and sensible attitudes to risk.

Obviously, it's such a short time to do without in order to have a healthy child, but then there are plenty of happy mothers all round the world having an occasional glass of wine and producing healthy kids.

Scampynoodle · 01/09/2007 16:36

I rarely drink alcohol or caffeine but since I got pregnant I get the odd urge for raspberry beer. I reckon I have a bottle once a month although I didn't touch anything for the first trimester. That was down to all day sickness more than anything else, mind you.

Personally, I think it is about healthy body and healthy mind. Sometimes what you eat or drink isn't great for your body (or baby) but if it's good for your mental health then go for it. That doesn't mean boozing the days away. That just means having the odd naughty indulgence if it makes you feel better about your crappy hormones, your burgeoning waistline or a shitty day at work. Ok, pie n chips or a swig of wine isn't the recommended diet but a bit of what you fancy...

Anyway, it's my way of standing up to pregnancy fascists. Sometimes a glass of beer or a cup of coffee is my way of telling the world that I'm not public property just because I'm pregnant. God knows, if I took half the foodie advice I'd be given I'd be boiling tomatoes before I ate them and sweating over the one peanut I ate two months ago.

Oooh, I am arsy today!

Original poster

mumzyof2 · 01/09/2007 18:37

Smoking is completely different. I absolutely hate it, a friend of mine smoked like a chimmney through both her pregnancies (40 a day), and the latter child was born at 5lb, and at one and a half, has just learnt to crawl. Im not blaming it all on smoking, but it certainly didnt help. It makes my blood boil. She smokes contantly round her children, one s 3, and one is 1 and a half. They are always coughing and have even gone to hospital with coughing and croup! Dont even get me started about when her mum and dad are at her house, you cant see for smoke. Those poor children. Whereas my two year old, I still dont think hes ever smelt cigarette smoke, I go crazy about smoking round children (can you tell?), how selfish can you be?

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