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Pregnancy

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

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Original poster

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:

ClubfootMaestro · 09/02/2020 10:07

It is impossible to prove that it is safe even in small quantities

It is impossible to prove paracetamol is safe in pregnancy, it’s just that there’s no evidence of it doing any harm. Same with occasional tiny amounts of alcohol.

happycamper11 · 09/02/2020 10:20

It is impossible to prove paracetamol is safe in pregnancy, it’s just that there’s no evidence of it doing any harm. Same with occasional tiny amounts of alcohol.

But people don't take paracetamol just because they feel like it, they take it for a medical need and most people when pregnant will question whether they actually need it. The whole benefit/risk thing. There are no actual need to have a glass of wine, there is t any real benefits whereas paracetamol is taken to relieve pain

CatteStreet · 09/02/2020 10:39

'just because they feel like it'

But if the theoretical risk of very, very occasional alcohol and paracetamol is the same, or equivalent (not saying it is, just setting it out as a proposition for the purposes of this argument), why does 'just feeling like it' make it worse than taking it to relieve pain (and you could argue that paracetamol, as a painkiller, is taken for comfort rather than a 'need' anyway)?

CatteStreet · 09/02/2020 10:43

I've also never heard the 'it's just 9 months, why can't you give it up, you must have a problem' narrative around raw meats/blue cheeses etc, where the stakes are arguably higher (potential fetal death/neonatal listeriosis) than in very light alcohol consumption.

ncagainforfeb · 09/02/2020 10:50

Alcohol is known to cause birth defects. It is impossible to prove that it is safe even in small quantities.

So my baby is at risk then. I felt so guilty about the drinking after finding out I was pregnant that I actually considered an abortion, even though the baby is very much wanted. Perhaps I should have gone through with it, as I’ve obviously given my baby a horrendous start in life and they’re now highly likely to have FASD.

LH1987 · 09/02/2020 11:03

@ncagainforfeb, don't let people on the internet on the internet upset you!

In the first few weeks of pregnancy the placenta hasn't even formed so the alcohol wouldn't have passed to the baby. A huge amount of women don't know they are pregnant and drink loads. In fact many women wouldn't even have gotten pregnant if they weren't drinking!

Below is an interesting article from Harvard on early and moderate drinking in pregnancy.

www.health.harvard.edu/blog/study-no-connection-between-drinking-alcohol-early-in-pregnancy-and-birth-problems-201309106667

bingbangbing · 09/02/2020 11:12

@ncagainforfeb

No. You stopped drinking at three weeks.

This is before the egg implants into the wall of your womb.

Before it implants, it does not share your bloodshed so would not have absorbed any alcohol from your bloodstream.

ncagainforfeb · 09/02/2020 11:30

No. You stopped drinking at three weeks.

I stopped drinking three weeks after the day I conceived but I was 5w pregnant IYSWIM.

Original poster

bluemoon2468 · 09/02/2020 12:04

@ncagainforfeb please remember that, despite what people say on here, the risks are very, very small. Most women drink until they realise they are pregnant - many women do not realise they are pregnant until 6 weeks+. Then a proportion of these women carry on drinking throughout pregnancy, some heavily. Despite this, only 1 in 1000 children is diagnosed with FAS in childhood. If you stop drinking at 5 weeks your risks are so much lower than that. If it's any comfort, the riskiest time for drinking is in the second half of your first trimester, not right at the start. There's no way to guarantee that anything you put into your body at any time won't harm your baby. It might turn out in 20 years time that something we all routinely consume now was actually increasing the risks of ADHD or ASD or dyslexia or something. You can only do your best with the information you have at any given time, and you certainly shouldn't be made to feel so worried that you consider terminating a wanted pregnancy when there is every likelihood that your child is completely healthy.

OP posts:

CatteStreet · 09/02/2020 12:31

ncagainforfeb - no, your baby is not by any means 'highly likely' to have FASD. Please don't take that from this thread. I would bet my life savings on your baby being absolutely fine in that regard.

I think the fairest summary of the current state of research might go something like 'It is likely that a certain level (which nobody knows exactly but is almost certain to be significantly above the odd genuinely occasional glass of wine) of continuous or regular drinking during pregnancy may cause one or more of the symptoms pertaining to FASD. Abstinence eliminates this risk in its entirety (but this risk may well not be present at a certain low level of drinking that, again, we don't know)'.

bingbangbing · 09/02/2020 12:34

So you kept drinking for a week after finding out that you were pregnant? Or did you not find out until you were five weeks pregnant?

Either way, the risk is yours to consider. Drinking when you know you're pregnant is irresponsible but we can't expect every woman of childbearing age to be teetotal.

This is difficult and upsetting stuff but such is motherhood.

Any pregnancy could result in a child with birth defects however knowingly doing something to increase the risk seems crazy to me.

ncagainforfeb · 09/02/2020 12:38

So you kept drinking for a week after finding out that you were pregnant? Or did you not find out until you were five weeks pregnant?

No! I stopped drinking as soon as I found out I was pregnant, which was three weeks after my conception date. However, because of the bizarre way it’s counted at that point I was 5w pregnant (as the first two weeks of pregnancy you’re not actually pregnant).

CatteStreet · 09/02/2020 12:38

No, bingbangbing, that's not how I read it. She found out she was pregnant (and stopped drinking) three weeks after conceiving, which made her 5 weeks (counting the point of conception as 2 weeks of pregnancy).

ncagainforfeb · 09/02/2020 12:40

Thanks @bluemoon2468 and @CatteStreet for the reassurance.

ncagainforfeb · 09/02/2020 12:43

No, bingbangbing, that's not how I read it. She found out she was pregnant (and stopped drinking) three weeks after conceiving, which made her 5 weeks (counting the point of conception as 2 weeks of pregnancy).

Exactly.

Jumpingforgin · 09/02/2020 12:44

For me personally, it just wouldn't ever be worth the risk. There are so many things out of our control that put us/our baby at risk during pregnancy (just getting into a car for example) but one thing you can make the conscious decision to protect a growing baby from is alcohol/drugs/smoking. To me, it would never be worth even the smallest risk, for what, one glass of wine... Would you even "feel" it? And if you did, would that not mean the baby will have had some effect (even if tiny) too? If it's just for the taste, I'd just have the non alcoholic version. It's a personal choice I guess, but no matter how much research gets done to prove its "safe" in moderation, alcohol is a drug, and is effectively a poison going into your body, nothing will change that.

Jumpingforgin · 09/02/2020 12:48

@namechangeagainforfeb please do not worry, alot of women will have been drinking before they knew they were pregnant, and some wouldn't have found out until much further into the pregnancy than you did. You have nothing to feel guilty about. Congrats on your pregnancy!

LH1987 · 09/02/2020 12:52

@ncagainforfeb, I think you are causing yourself anxiety by reading threads like this. FAS is the result of sustained heavy drinking and you drank for a little bit before you found out you were pregnant. That's very different! The world over women dont know they are pregnant and continue to drink and do other things they shouldn't.

happycamper11 · 09/02/2020 12:56

I drank fairly heavily with both my dc before I realised I was pregnant. Have I done them any harm? Who knows I have nothing to compare it to. I can't give birth to the same child again without having done so. We are happy though and I guess that's all that matters.

As for FAS we are still very much on the tip of the iceberg of understanding and diagnosing and many more subtle cases will likely never be picked up. Drinking before you know, especially if you aren't actively trying for a baby happens as I said it happened to me both times but I think it's pretty irresponsible to advise that it's fine to knowingly have a drink when you just don't know for sure if that's the case.

GinUnicorn · 09/02/2020 14:33

I’m 26 weeks pregnant and I’ve had a small glass of champagne for a celebration. I have a few occasions over the next few months I might have a tiny glass for. My midwife just said don’t exceed 2 glasses per week so I think occasional is fine.

XenaAura · 10/02/2020 22:11

I have had a few ciders over the months (I am 37 weeks pregnant now, everything fine with baby ^^) never more than 1 in a row though, and spread out over the months. If I went to visit my mum (who lives 5 hours away so was a special occasion) and at Christmas I had a flavoured cider etc. I think as long as you are not drinking spirits, and not drinking on a regular occasion, then in moderation its fine.
Saying this, everything you do whilst pregnant is at your own risk and you bear the consequences of your actions. My friend is still smoking at 35 weeks, and as much as I can disapprove of this, its her own choice.
Plus years back, wine was considered a good thing to have a glass of every night =D And we were all born fine ^^

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