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Pregnancy

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

Alcohol when pregnant

196 replies

bluemoon2468 · 08/02/2020 07:11

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!

OP posts:
turnthebiglightoff · 08/02/2020 11:09

The justification on this thread is verging in the ridiculous. If you want a drink when pregnant, drink. It's your problem if something goes wrong. End of.

happycamper11 · 08/02/2020 11:17

The difference between driving and drinking alcohol is that you probably won't crash when driving and baby only has a risk of being harmed if you do, however in the event of a crash the baby could still be unharmed. Most car accidents are minor. We know the alcohol will definitely be passed to the baby there for the risk is present every time you consume it ... a bit like having an accident each time you get in a car - baby could be absolutely fine but there's a risk they won't be.

You0401 · 08/02/2020 11:19

I have had the occasional glass of wine whilst a pregnant- and did with my first pregnancy too. My GP actually said that there was no evidence to suggest that one glass of alcohol every now again has any impact at all.

For people quoting FAS- this is a serious condition, caused by prolonged and sustained heavy drinking in pregnancy. There may be reports of it being caused by '1-8 drinks' but this is much more likely to be a case of the mother lying about how much she has really been drinking and/ or possibly misusing other substances during pregnancy too.

bingbangbing · 08/02/2020 11:21

@happycamper11

That is an excellent analogy.

Driving in a car and drinking alcohol are only comparable if you crash every time you get in the car.

It's not the driving that's the risk- it's the crash.

By drinking alcohol while pregnant you're effectively 'crashing' each time.

Why do that deliberately?

happycamper11 · 08/02/2020 11:26

My GP actually said that there was no evidence to suggest that one glass of alcohol every now again has any impact at all.

But there is also no evidence to say it definitely won't have any impact.

Panpastels · 08/02/2020 11:38

@Pr1mus out of interest how did you go from not being able to stop at one drink to having a drink on a Friday?
I haven't drunk for 2.5 years due to having a drink problem and now I'm curious Smile
With reference to pregnancy - I had the odd half of lager with my first 2 pregnancies many years ago but the last 2 I couldn't see the point so didn't.

Pr1mus · 08/02/2020 11:58

@Panpastels with great difficulty haha!

My son is a great distraction. My dad was an alcoholic and he was bloody useless, I don't want that for my little boy. I'm no good to him if I'm a drunken mess.

Knowing that when Friday comes I get to have my wine keeps me going through the week. It feels like I've earned it rather than drinking for the sake of it like I used to. Fortunately I still have my tolerance to it so I can drink quite a few and still wake up fresh on Saturday morning! 😂

Panpastels · 08/02/2020 12:04

Thanks for replying @Pr1mus
Tempting as it is sometimes, I managed to get away from the whole 'alcohol as a reward' thing so I think I will stay as I am (I know what I'm like and I would soon be bending the rules!) Grin

tiedy · 08/02/2020 12:05

Yes I had the occasional small glass of wine/beer during my pregnancies. It probably worked out at about 1 unit of alcohol a month. There's no evidence that light to moderate drinking is harmful.

Viletta · 08/02/2020 12:09

I know ladies who had half a pint now and again. I think it's not worth the risk as for me half a pint or a glass of Prosecco won't give me much of an effect apart of mentally relaxing knowing I have an alcoholic drink. Although indeed I read the same research there is also an opinion that it's tricky to design a study for a proper research. Can drinking during pregnancy affect alcohol tolerance of the baby in the future and make him more prone to alcoholism for example? I don't know. All and all one glass is probably not as harmful as many other things like exposure to toxins.

Babyg1995 · 08/02/2020 12:14

The amount of times this issue has been posted on here is unreal this was just asked yesterday
If you want to have a drink while pregnant it's your choice your body your baby .
I've never drank when pregnant 9 months is nothing to not have any and I really love my wine and gin but that's my personal choice MN is mostly anti alcohol when pregnant .

SunshineAngel · 08/02/2020 12:21

To be honest, I very rarely drink anyway, and if I do when I'm out it'll be something like a bottle of fruity cider, with not much alcohol in it anyway.

So giving it up wouldn't really affect me in any way.

I don't think I would drink - but that's due to my anxiety issues surrounding health, so I'd be trying to stay as healthy as possible. But I honestly can't see that there would be any issue if my drinking habits stayed just as they were now.

ShirleyPhallus · 08/02/2020 12:35

A unit of alcohol, drunk very slowly, will be entirely metabolised before it reaches the foetus so wouldn’t even affect it.

For that reason, I was comfortable with light drinking in my pregnancy. I had a small glass (ie 1 unit) for all the life events that year - birthday, Christmas, engagement etc. Weirdly, if my glass was ever more full than the one unit I just didn’t want the rest of it. But I was comfortable in drinking that amount for then.

Saying that, everyone has a different attitude to their pregnancy and people have been trying for different amounts of time / have other risk factors etc so I think those all have something to do with it.

Saying that drinking a unit of alcohol is the same risk as smoking is nonsense.

firstimemamma · 08/02/2020 12:45

@wheelsfellofflongago "i wouldn't and didn't. Believe me if there is anything wrong with your baby you will look at the things you did and irrationally blame yourself. It's really not worth it." I could've written this myself!

MindyStClaire · 08/02/2020 13:11

I had about five drinks total from about 25 weeks last time, all small glasses of wine or prosecco sipped over the course of a meal at special occasions like Christmas, my birthday, a wedding etc. I'll do similar this time. I prefer to wait until after the anomaly scan just so if something is found I don't torture myself.

You wouldn't give a baby any alcohol at all. Why ? A tiny amount wouldn't hurt them ! It probably wouldn't but it's a drug , it's unhealthy and even though we can't prove tiny amounts will or won't hurt a baby we just don't do it.

This made me laugh. DD was on ranitidine for silent reflux from 8 weeks. The leaflet came with a warning that it has the same alcoholic content as wine, and so anyone with a drinking problem should approach their doctor for something else. We syringed it into DD four times a day. Grin

happymummy12345 · 08/02/2020 13:36

I drank during my pregnancy and I'm not ashamed to say it. A lot less than usual and weaker than usual (so if I had a spirit and mixer I made it much weaker than I usually have, I like spirits strong. Or I'd have wine topped up with lemonade). But I'd do the same again in future.
My mum drank and smoked as usual through all 3 of her pregnancies, my Nan did through both hers.
I know most will say I'm wrong but it's my choice

RoomForPudding · 08/02/2020 14:21

@bluemoon2468 the comparison of risk you mention I have found very interesting since I've been pregnant. I think I am in the same position as you - I have a questioning mentality about it, but I feel a bit bulldozed by some mothers/others who take a real hardline approach.
I do wonder though... are the people who are heavily critical of any alcohol in pregnancy also equally as critical of pregnant women who have unhealthy diets, eat lots of additives, don't exercise.... basically those who do not follow medical advice TO THE LETTER. Would they criticise overwieight mothers for not giving their children the best possible life chance?

I'm not trying to start a fire here, I'm just curious about extrapolating one "risk" to another.

Pr1mus · 08/02/2020 14:29

@Panpastels I admire your self control! I think my weekly wine is what keeps me sane 😂 x

MindyStClaire · 08/02/2020 14:36

I wonder similar about the "if you can't go nine months without it you need to think about whether you need it" brigade RoomForPudding.

I mean, to me a glass of wine is like a bar of chocolate - I don't need either and they certainly aren't the healthiest choice, but I sure as hell enjoy them.

bingbangbing · 08/02/2020 14:42

As far as I know, there are no cases of children suffering severe learning disabilities due to the mother being over weight. As in, a direct proven link with a known mechanism. Not 'more likely to' which is correlation without causation.

Not comparable.

firsttimemomx · 08/02/2020 14:44

In my honest opinion, I don't see why anyone couldn't just wait 9 months, I genuinely do not think it's worth the risk at all and I don't think the NHS would advise you not to drink at all if there wasn't something suggesting that even abit of alcohol was bad Smile but that's just my view

ClubfootMaestro · 08/02/2020 14:49

What “risk” Is it not worth @firsttimemomx? Numerous studies show no difference between abstinence and low levels of alcohol during pregnancy.

BlueHarry · 08/02/2020 14:53

I had a couple of glasses of prosecco - one small glass at a wedding and one at a funeral wake - during my pregnancy. I am not much of a drinker in general, I probably average about that much per year (2 -3 small glasses of something). I think it's fine as long as you're not drinking to excess.

BlueHarry · 08/02/2020 14:56

I don't think the NHS would advise you not to drink at all if there wasn't something suggesting that even abit of alcohol was bad

I think with alcohol, and things like liver which I don't actually eat so didn't, the NHS advises you have none, because some people will take it to extremes otherwise.

QueSera · 08/02/2020 15:01

I agree that occassional small amounts of alcohol are v unlikely to harm the baby.
But I wanted zero risk from alcohol, and there is no way I'd have enjoyed those few drinks if I had them whilst pregnant, so there was no point in having any alcohol for me. I went tee-total for pregnancy, and drank alcohol-free beer and wine when I wanted to relax, go to the pub, celebrate etc. I've just learned that there is even alcohol-free Prosecco! I hadn't known about that.
If (in theory) I were to get pregnant again, I'd do exactly the same, no alcohol.