Alcohol when pregnant

[bluemoon2468]

I'd sort of like to see how the land lies on this one! I'm 5+3 and personally haven't had a drink since before I conceived because I was doing dry January.

I've just finished the book 'Expecting Better' which is written by a health economist who had a baby of her own, and decided to research the 'facts' behind conventional conception/pregnancy/birth wisdom and advice. Among other things, she concluded that there is absolutely no evidence that light-moderate drinking has any negative effect on mum or baby whatsoever. The only existing evidence of any issue is with heavy drinking, particularly regular heavy drinking. This is in contrast to say, smoking, where there is a lot of evidence that even occasional smoking negatively affects your baby. She talks about the fact that in many European countries, women are not routinely told to cut out drinking all together, but just to moderate it (these countries have no higher rates of miscarriage, disability, pre-term birth etc.) My own mum said that when she was pregnant with me, the medical advice at the time was not to go tee-total, but to limit drinking to one glass of wine per day, which she did.

This having been said, is anyone willing to 'admit' to any light drinking during pregnancy? I'm certainly not planning on regular drinking, but am considering very occasional drinks e.g. a small glass of prosecco on my birthday or our wedding anniversary. No hate please!

'Worse than smoking', really, when around a third (!) of SIDS cases are thought to be linked to ante-natal smoke exposure, i.e. mothers smoking in pregnancy?

bingbangbing, your link isn't exactly written in a sober (! - excuse pun), objective tone, and I also notice the wording 'reported exposure' - we don't know who the exposure was reported by, but presumably the mothers, at least some of whom, knowing they have done something socially undesirable which has had adverse consequences for their child, may well be underreporting their consumption. I personally feel 1 drink a week to be too much (no idea what its actual relationship to FASD causality is, but it seems too much, to me), but I remain unconvinced that anything other than complete abstinence is tantamount to child abuse.

I think everyone can justify their own choices with books and articles.
But common sense should be used and listen to those advice that obstetricians give.

It's a bit like the articles about not vaccinating children. They've been refused by medical professionals who've done more research than someone who woke up overnight feeling "wiser" than others.

But at the end of the day is everyone's choice and no one can convince others.

I'm asking thou, if you think alcohol might harm your baby, do you continue drinking or go the safe path and avoid?

I had a pint of lager shandy every Friday during my pregnancy with my very healthy 16 year old.

I openly drank ONE alcoholic drink at a wedding back in November when I was about 26 weeks (so obviously pregnant). There was also another pregnant woman there who I noticed had a glass of wine. I can't remember having any others at any point this pregnancy but in my last I also had a drink on my birthday in a nice restaurant with my partner. I'd be comfortable having the odd drink for special occasions in future pregnancy too.

I work in paediatrics at my local hospital & was talking to one of the consultants I work with about how I was craving a beer & a medium cooked steak in my first pregnancy. He encouraged having the odd drink & said it would do no harm. He's the lead consultant for neonates, also handling neonates & child safeguarding so regularly deals with those unborn & newborn babies who are subjected to substance abuse in the womb because of their mothers so have problems. If he of all people is telling me I can have a drink then I will, he's possibly the best consultant I've ever worked with when it comes to quality of care.

When I was pregnant with DD1, the midwife at the ante natal class encouraged us to have a glass of guinness with our evening meal. It was meant to be good for our iron levels. I tried it once, the smell made me sick.

I'm asking thou, if you think alcohol might harm your baby, do you continue drinking or go the safe path and avoid?

Alcohol in low amounts wont harm your baby. As I said, the NHS advised that one drink a day (which seems excessive to me) was absolutely fine until not that long ago. Do you think they would do that if there was actual evidence to the contrary? There still isnt any evidence. Are there entire generations with large numbers of children with FAS due to the light or moderate drinking of their mother during pregnancy? The answer is no.

I didn't drink at all. I already gave it up before we started trying though.

It's not really a hardship for me, though I missed having a cold beer in the summer. But since we don't know how much passes to the baby, I didn't think it was worth it.

Ate loads of other crap though.

I don't know the ins and outs of the research but I do know it's fairly well established that alcohol is a poison and anything mum consumes cross the placenta to baby. Whether the affect of that is harmful I'm not sure. Rawsons retreat (I think it's called) do a lovely non alcoholic sparkling wine!

With my first I had some red wine and I threw up and fainted it was defo the wine and I haven't had it since.

Had two more children since and never drank while pregnant, actually haven't drank since!

Personally no I haven't and wouldn't. Whilst I know the risks are tiny and 99.9% of babies will be fine. I always remember someone saying the baby organs will be developing/being made in the womb why would you effectively give them alcohol when this is happening.

I read that book too, and felt pretty comfortable with having the odd drink. I think I maybe a couple low alcohol beers and then lost the baby at 11 weeks. Unrelated, it was a blood clotting disorder I didn't know I had.
But it means this time I'm staying off all of it, coffee included, during first trimester.

In second trimester my best mate is getting married so I think I'll allow myself a low alcohol beer at the party.

I really don't think there's a problem with the odd drink. As long as it is infrequent and you don't get smashed, it's not a problem. I'll stick to low alcohol so I still get the experience but without the worry.

I will stay away from spirits for the whole of my pregnancy though. That feels a bit different.

Pregnancy is an end of an era for many women. We're losing a lot of ourselves when we go through this and we know life will never be the same, so frankly if the odd spritzer helps you feel connected to your pre-pregnany life, then why not?

@outcomethewolves
I don't think I'd mind if it was just alcohol but it's bloody everything- exercise, sleep, deli meats, coffee, cola, steak, pork, hair dye, escape rooms, hot tubs, pineapples - just fuck off!! - this really made me lol! I do think sometimes what about all the completely healthy babies who are born to anyone in countries who don't have these restrictions!

To play devils advocate to some extent, to people in the 'if there's any level of risk possible at all, even the tiniest amount, why would you take the chance?' camp: why is this line of thinking applied to alcohol but not other, riskier behaviours such as travelling in a car?

The chance of your baby dying or suffering a life changing injury in a car accident on a motorway is infinitely higher than the possible risk from an occasional drink in pregnancy, but there is absolutely no judgement when a pregnant woman or mother gets in a car with her child. In fact, if a pregnant woman refused to get in a car most people would think she was completely neurotic and needed help. Most car travel is just convenient, not strictly necessary, as there are usually alternative, safer ways to travel. So out of interest, why the comfort with that and not with other 'risky' behaviours?

There was a documentary a while back that showed very clear evidence that even small amounts of alcohol affected a foetus in utero. It was eye opening that more signs of distress were shown after alcohol than heroin. Before seeing that I was in the odd glass won't do any harm camp.

I think a lot of people on this thread had already made their decision and are now seeking to justify it.

Yes, most children are exposed to alcohol in the womb are fine. In fact you could say that the vast majority are fine.

A tiny number are not. So it's a tiny risk.

But that risk must be looked at in context. It's a tiny risk of something very bad happening.

FAS:

www.nhs.uk/conditions/foetal-alcohol-syndrome/

Symptoms include:
• a head that's smaller than average
• poor growth – they may be smaller than average at birth, grow slowly as they get older, and be shorter than average as an adult
• distinctive facial features – such as small eyes, a thin upper lip, and a smooth area between the nose and upper lip, though these may become less noticeable with age
• movement and balance problems
• learning difficulties – such as problems with thinking, speech, social skills, timekeeping, maths or memory
• issues with attention, concentration or hyperactivity
• problems with the liver, kidneys, heart or other organs
• hearing and vision problems
These problems are permanent, though early treatment and support can help limit their impact on an affected child's life.

As they grow up the problems can manifest themselves as:

For example, they may have difficulties with learning, misuse drugss or alcoholl, develop mental health problems, and find it difficult to get a job and live independently as an adult.

Why would you play Russian roulette with the above? It is as bad as smoking. I genuinely don't understand why you would knowingly take even the tiniest risk of the above. For what? A moment's pleasure?

I have not drank in my pregnancy and do not intend to do so. For me I don’t see any problem with no alcohol for 9 months. I think it is a personal choice and do not judge others if they choose to have the odd drink.
For my sisters 21st I got a bottle of no alcoholic prosecco for me and DM (doesn’t drink at all). Didn’t feel any different to everyone else with their glass of fizz.
I think worry too much about something going wrong as I’ve had a previous MC. I’m probably overly cautious as I’ve not dyed my hair, had caffeine etc as I’d rather not stress about the effects it could have.

Just to put my position in context, I have an ex with mild FAS.

Even that was a shitter. He'll never work and is on anti-depressives probably for life.

It’s not just about full blown fetal alcohol syndrome, there are a spectrum of disorders that are thought to be related to alcohol use in pregnancy and no ‘safe’ level has been established. In terms of risk/benefit I just can’t see why anyone would drink while pregnant

www.nofas-uk.org/documents/2011.331%20NOFAS%20Factsheet%20PregnantFinal.pdf

Because there’s an actual payoff for other ‘risky’ behaviours, like travelling in a car. For example, I drove, every day, when pregnant to get to work to earn money so I could keep my house, buy food, pay for my medical care (I live far too far to walk and there isn’t adequate public transport). Yes there is a risk but that’s calculated against an actual life benefit (and for things that also benefitted my child).

I'm almost 33 weeks, haven't had a drop of alcohol since before I got pregnant, and not planning to. I just don't feel the need or see absolutely any benefits of having even one drink. Didn't even have any at my own wedding four months ago and it wasn't a "sacrifice" or "being strong" or anything like that, I literally just didn't want or need one.

I'm extremely alcohol dependant and have been since my late teens. I drink every day. I still managed to abstain through all my pregnancies because why the fuck risk anything for the sake of satisfying your own selfish desires?

Personally I haven't, but I rarely drank alcohol pre pregnancy.

Caffeinated tea on the other hand... Decaf is gross. I hear that book has a section on caffeine which is reassuring that the NHS advice is outdated re caffeine.

The main reason I didn't drink is because I didn't want to be able to blame myself if anything went wrong. I had a MC years before and immediately spiralled into how I could blame myself.

@RichTwoTurkeyFriend maybe sometimes there's a tangible benefit to driving, like driving to work or to hospital appointments. But what about 'social' driving? If you drive to a friend's house to spend the day with them or drive to the airport to go on holiday are you being reckless and selfish because you're putting your own social life and enjoyment before the baby's safety?

LOL at there ‘maybe sometimes’ being a tangible benefit - pretty sure everyone driving to work to earn a living is more than a ‘maybe sometimes’
I guess for me the difference is, I may have a fatal car crash if I drive (fairly low odds). I will definitely pass alcohol on to my unborn if I drink whilst pregnant, and that does not sit right with me. As PP above said, you wouldn’t give even a tiny amount to a newborn, I presume. What’s the difference? Our state health website indicates that a baby will have a similar blood alcohol content of their mother while drinking.