Controversial Topic

[namechangeryadayada]

Did anyone have a glass of wine in their pregnancy? I did in my first pregnancy maybe a glass once or twice a week after 20'weeks but not at all in this pregnancy.

Curious what other people's view points are.

IMO.. would you give your newborn baby alcohol?? A few sips of wine? Because "just a bit won't do any damage"? What you eat and drink is passed through to baby via the placenta so how is it really that different?

I'm a doctor, and pretty much every doctor friend of mine including GPs, obstetricians and paediatricians drank on occasion during their pregnancies. So even the "experts" don't follow the NHS blanket ban. My feeling is that people's views on this are largely dictated by their personality, moral views and how big a role alcohol plays in their social life as these will all impact on your interpretation of research. I had the odd drink in my first pregnancy on special occasions and I would not judge a woman for doing the same. It is not the same as frequent heavy drinking and it should not imply that you are a "bad mother". I read recently that since the guidelines switched to avoiding total abstinence increasing numbers of women have sought abortions as by the time they find out they're pregnant they've been drinking and are highly anxious the baby is damaged. So recommending abstinence can actually have negative outcomes.

That should say, promoting total abstinence, not avoiding

2 glasses of wine a week when you're pregnant is an absolute disgrace! You've clearly got a drink problem if you can justify passing toxic chemicals to an unborn child. You might aswell just put it in their bottle once they are born!!
Disgrace behaviour.

A few sips for a taste in your mouth, or alcohol free versions should be sufficient if your desparate

@Annabel28 TI'm a doctor, and pretty much every doctor friend of mine including GPs, obstetricians and paediatricians drank on occasion during their pregnancies. So even the "experts" don't follow the NHS blanket ban.

You're a doctor who puts 'experts' in scare quotes?

I had the odd drink in my first pregnancy on special occasions and I would not judge a woman for doing the same.

As 'a doctor', what is it that changes in the body of a pregnant woman on a 'special occasion' that means the toxic effects of alcohol on the embryo/foetus cannot take place?

I read recently that since the guidelines switched to avoiding total abstinence increasing numbers of women have sought abortions as by the time they find out they're pregnant they've been drinking and are highly anxious the baby is damaged. So recommending abstinence can actually have negative outcomes

Are you then, a 'doctor' who is opposed to abortion? Since you see terminating a pregnancy that may have been adversely affected, and the foetus permanently damaged with lifelong disabilities, as a 'negative outcome'?

Scarlet I've already asked on this thread what it is that makes a drink consumed before you know you're pg (which the NHS advices you not to worry about) and one consumed the day after. Clearly the nhs don't think every unit consumed causes inevitable harm.

@Tombakersscarf
Indeed, there is no absolute certainty that any specific drink would or wouldn't cause damage.

Just like plenty of people have driven while intoxicated, or not wearing seatbelts, or smoked or taken illegal drugs while pregnant, or done many, many other things which I presume you wouldn't advise them to do?

@LaurenK - odds on you do at least something that someone else would consider passing on toxic chemicals to your unborn baby in an unreasonable, disgraceful way. Living in a city (pollution), using your usual shampoo (sodium lauryl sulfate), eating any junk food, failing to eat organic, using your usual household cleaners, painting your child's nursery...

Telling someone they're a disgrace for a choice they make like that is not really productive if you're trying to change hearts and minds based on good evidence. On the other hand, if you're just trying to pat your own back about being a superior mother then crack on, I guess, and be sure not to complain when someone does the same to you based on one of the above!

I have one for you in terms of one-up-mumship - for the third trimester of my last pregnancy I did not sleep on my left side at all as I had heard it could be a risk factor for stillbirth. (And it is my favourite side too)
I am betting some of the "how could you risk it?" posters on here did sleep on their left side thus exposing their lo to unnecessary risk..
It's best not to judge, really (unless you're on AIBU of course).

@ScarlettBlaize none of your points make sense.
And you deliberately misinterpreted the posters use of 'negative outcomes' to assume they are anti-abortion. The poster quite clearly meant that woman have had abortions because they were worried about the alcohol they had consumed before they knew they were pregnant. An abortion they would have not sought otherwise - hence the 'negative outcome'.

@Tombakersscarf well you're an idiot then, it's the left side you're supposed to sleep on 😂😂😂😂😂

Not an idiot Ruby, just forgetful as it's been some time since my last child was in utero
What would actually make me an idiot is judging women for things like the side they slept on.

I think it's terrible that people feel they are justified to call other idiots in an online forum. Would you be brave enough to do that in the street to someone's face? Or a different to do have so little manners in real life or is it just while on an anonymous forum?

Oh dear. Both of my obstetricians said a glass of wine with dinner every so often would do no harm at all. So that’s what I had.

Yes.
Quite a few times but never more than one in an evening.

My mw actually said it's fine and that the advice to have none at all is that it's difficult to put a "limit" on what is ok so easier just to make the office advice to have none. She said "just don't get drunk".

I think pretty much the only thing I avoided was raw shellfish not that I eat a lot of that anyway!
Bu

@ScarlettBlaize - I meant food sac -being from a medical family I wasn't giving advice, as I said I don't drink once I know but my consultant told me this -I have to have CVS at 11 weeks which they can't do til then as the placenta doesn't form til 10 weeks. When I have my 8 week dating scan you can see the food sac. Health professionals advise not to drink as they can't advise on any safe limit!

I used to wake up having had a nightmare that I'd drunk a glass of wine in my first pregnancy -I just think the guilt would stop you enjoying a drink anyway! Xx

I had all the usual Xmas and New Years nights out before I hit 5 week and then found out I was pregnant. As I'm sure millions of us have. Didn't touch a drop all the way to 38 week when I treated myself to a taboo and lemonade at a family meal, just the one. Very rock n roll 😆

SIL was told by the professionals to drink up to 2 pints of Guinness a week so she had a half every other night but that was for iron, she didn't touch a drop of anything else.

I am super confused by what the OPs intention was with this post. was you hoping loads of people would agree with you and then it would make you feel better to drink in this pregnancy? that's the way it has come across. and as for the original question yes I would judge you but I wouldn't say anything as it's your choice - I would just be having a few choice words to say about you in my own head lol

also anon87 the Guinness advice for iron is incredibly outdated - why not take a supplement or eat food high in iron

I didn't know I was pregnant for almost 3 months, so went on drinking as usual (not masses, but was on holiday for a week during that period too). Also smoked back in those days (again, not loads but a few a day). Also did my usual boxercise with loads of situps. Stopped when I found out! Had a glass of champagne at new year. Son was fine.

The advice has changed so much -my mum was told to eat loads of liver and drink Guinness for iron this was 30 something years ago and now you can't do either of these things - I don't mind though I don't like Guinness or liver! I think I'm missing red wine more than anything at the moment probably because all the substitutes for this are rubbish and taste like Ribena! Xx

Thing is that the women who drink enough to cause FAS inevitably lie about how much they've had, to themselves, doctors, midwives and anybody else within range.

If they are told 'drink sensibly/occasionally', they say 'I'm only having a couple a week', when the reality is the first can gets cracked open when they get home from the morning school run or have half a bottle of wine instead of a whole one a night. They're taking 'a little bit doesn't hurt' as meaning it's fine to carry on as they are.

Many of those same women smoke and take drugs. I've heard people say 'it's more dangerous for the baby for me to be stressed from giving up smoking, so I can't stop' and 'I've only had two lines/only had spliffs since I've been pregnant, so I've not done anything to hurt the baby who is in Special Care'.

That's why the advice (which contradicts the research) is for zero consumption.

Exactly - the advice has to cater to the lowest common denominator, i.e. people who see “a glass” and think of a Wetherspoons large glass which is 250ml, or 1/3 of a bottle of wine.
The risk free option for the medical community is a blanket restriction, or recommendation to avoid alcohol completely.

@flower1994 yes the Guinness thing is total bullshit. I've been anaemic throughout all my pregnancies (and also when not pregnant) and you get prescribed iron, not told to drink beer. Not since the 50s anyway.