Alcohol when pregnant

[pigglepot]

I know the official guidance is that zero alcohol is the safest option but there hasn't been research on small amount of alcohol in pregnancy and apparently 80% of women drink something whilst pregnant.

I'm not looking for judgment here but in both of my pregnancies I've drunk a very small amount- like one small glass of wine per week sipped or a few sips on husbands glass.

What do others do and how much- be honest!

There is zero evidence low to moderate drinking causes any harm, and its been studied extensively

I genuinely don't think the occasional drink does any harm, so this is not me being judgy.

But your statement is wrong. There's no evidence because there can't be. You can't ethically run a clinical trial on pregnant women. So studies are hypothetical, rather than evidence-based, and the guidance broadly is, avoid alcohol, as much as possible.

None my whole pregnancy. Had a few glasses of alcohol free wine/cider throughout but no actual alcohol.

I had a mini bottle of wine with my Sunday lunch from 14ish weeks.

I did before I knew I was pregnant. Had two glasses of wine with a work lunch (massively pressurised), and otherwise didn't drink for the duration of the pregnancy. My DC had birth defects. Probably not related, but of course no one really knows. That's the real problem, the guilt.

@Ohnomoreno

I did before I knew I was pregnant. Had two glasses of wine with a work lunch (massively pressurised), and otherwise didn't drink for the duration of the pregnancy. My DC had birth defects. Probably not related, but of course no one really knows. That's the real problem, the guilt.

Oh @Ohnomoreno 😥 I'm no medical expert at all. But I cannot imagine anything you did influenced your baby's birth defects.

Please try to stop the guilt. It's hurting you more. 💐

None. It’s not that long to go without it really. And have found a genuinely very nice alcohol free mojito!

@EarringsandLipstick I know. I try not to dwell. Just saying that it's best not to have any reason to reproach oneself if anything does go wrong.

When I had mine the guidance was 1-2 units once or twice a week. Once upon a time women were told half a Guinness was a good thing! A little bit isn't harmful but health professionals know that people don't stick to measures, under estimate etc and it's a confusing message, zero is easier!

[quote Ohnomoreno]@EarringsandLipstick I know. I try not to dwell. Just saying that it's best not to have any reason to reproach oneself if anything does go wrong.[/quote]
I understand, and agree. I hope you & DS are doing well. It sounded so sad to hear you carrying guilt like that.

The other thing is, I'm pretty sure we parents find something to blame ourselves for when anything is wrong / affects our DC. So you focus on the glass of wine, which logically can't have caused the problem; if not the wine, you'd have wondered about another decision you made.

Why do you ask @pigglepot? It seems like you made your choice when you were pregnant and have moved on from that...

I had a glass if red wine every fri eve throughout my 3 pregnancies.

Guidance changed for me, dd1 born 2005 they said fine to have odd glass which I did with rare meals with friends weddings etc then dd2 born 15 months later I was told it's now zero as parents can't be trusted to not take it too far!!! I just did the same, odd glass and all good have three healthy kids but one small glass occasionally fine but no more x

If you've worked with children with FASD you wouldn't touch a drop. So none here.

No, none at all. We were ttc for 2 years and had a MC 6 months before we finally conceived DS, I've already been really anxious during this pregnancy because of that, had I had a drink, no matter how small, I'd have blamed myself if anything went wrong with this one (definitely not saying it's any mother's fault if they've had a drink and then miscarried, just that's how I would have felt) so didn't seem worth the risk to me

I drank throughout all pregnancies but sparingly

A small glass of red with a dinner every so often or half a draft ale at the weekend

I wasn’t doing cocktails and shots

I've had about 4 small drinks in my pregnancy i now can't stomach it so don't bother personally I don't see the harm in light moderation

I had 1 bottle of beer at about 35 maybe 36 weeks pregnant because I was craving it and then had 2 sips of another beer about a week later & couldn't stomach it so OH had to have it.

Think I had a couple of drinks in the 2ww, but not a drop since (34+1 today) I don’t feel I “need” it enough for the risk, no matter how minimal.

At Christmas I had a few Buck’s Fizz using nosecco, & it tasted the same. Alcohol free stuff has really improved, & tests like the alcohol stuff.

That said, I can’t imagine how good that first gin and lemonade will be after birth 😂

Listened to my OBGYN

It helped because my OBGYN is far more measured in his research and experience than random people on Mumsnet.

I trust his advice and his extensive knowledge on fetal development because that's his job.

And as an intelligent woman I am very well able to weigh up the risks of drinking a single glass of wine with dinner over the course of an hour with plenty of water whilst pregnant.

I'm also intelligent enough to calculate the risks in relation to myself alone without extrapolating such risk to everyone else. I would never tell a pregnant woman that she should have a drink because the risks are minimal. That was my choice and my choice alone.

Strangers opinions on the matter are neither here nor there. We all have our own acceptable limit of risk.

@EarringsandLipstick

I did have a brandy n coke at 7 months to help me sleep ( doctor told dh to give me it.

Wtf?

Cannot believe this - doctor recommending it 🤨 / you doing it.

I can assure you it happened**@EarringsandLipstick** under difficult circumstances.

I did with my first 3 pregnancies as the guidelines were different , with my third I remember it was 1-2 units no more than twice a week. With my fourth it had then changed to nothing , I had 4 drinks in total through the whole pregnancy after 20 weeks.

I drank through all 3 of my pregnancies. Not huge amounts, a few glasses of wine at the weekend (not every week) with DH. No more than 4 or 5 units a week.

@Strokethefurrywall

Listened to my OBGYN

It helped because my OBGYN is far more measured in his research and experience than random people on Mumsnet.

I trust his advice and his extensive knowledge on fetal development because that's his job.

And as an intelligent woman I am very well able to weigh up the risks of drinking a single glass of wine with dinner over the course of an hour with plenty of water whilst pregnant.

I'm also intelligent enough to calculate the risks in relation to myself alone without extrapolating such risk to everyone else. I would never tell a pregnant woman that she should have a drink because the risks are minimal. That was my choice and my choice alone.

Strangers opinions on the matter are neither here nor there. We all have our own acceptable limit of risk.

Sure - I didn't say anything different to this. Do try reading my posts?

I pointed out that whether your OBGYN recommended having a drink or not is a moot point, their expertise notwithstanding.

That's because it's not possible to do clinical research on pregnant women, ethically. So there's no evidence.

Agree with everything else you say. Pity you decided a snippy response was merited instead of engaging with my actual point.

I can assure you it happened@EarringsandLipstick under difficult circumstances.

Sorry to hear that Parkhead.

Still amazed at the doctor's recommendation. There are other supports when difficulties happen.

I didn’t drink at all.