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Pregnancy

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

Original poster

Did anyone drink alcohol through pregnancy?

99 replies

KacyB · 07/02/2008 23:24

Hi,

I am just wondering how common it is for women to drink during pregnancy.

I used to drink quite a bit, but stopped the minute I found out I was pregnant. I would rather not drink at all, that's my personal choice.

I was chatting to a couple of friends today, one of who happens to be PG and she said she's still drinking 1-2 glasses of wine a day...

I didn't say anything other than I've made a personal choice not to drink at all during my PG... I mean, I know it's not a guarantee everything will be OK, but it makes me feel better...

The more I think about what she said, the more shocked I am about it... I am thinking maybe I should say I disagree?

OP posts:
berolina · 08/02/2008 17:16

FWIW I think it is sensible to abstain in the first trimester, or possibly the first 20 weeks. After that I can't see the harm in an occasional small glass of wine, drunk with food.

With ds1 I abstained until 26 weeks, with ds2 until 20 weeks barring a quarter of a glass of champagne on my birthsay at 12 weeks. After that I had a small glass of wine roughly (averaged out) every 2 or 3 weeks, in both pregnancies.

JingleyJen · 08/02/2008 17:19

I drank 1-2 glasses of wine a week when pregnant with both the boys.

MiL was a midwife for 35 years and insisted that I should understand that I must not drink more than 1-2 glasses each day and not save them up to the weekend.

I never fancied drinking that much as I was tired anyway and a glass of wine just put me to sleep.

PortAndLemon · 08/02/2008 17:20

My word, but I want a drink now after reading this thread .

Sadly now I have gestational diabetes and can't afford the blood sugar rush from even a small glass

pistachio · 08/02/2008 18:42

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BrummieOnTheRun · 08/02/2008 20:22

If a single glass of wine was so dangerous for a foetus the human race would have died out a very very long time ago.

Wisteria · 08/02/2008 20:25

I generally had a glass of wine or a pint and occasionally a small G&T throughout both my pregnancies, when I fancied it but never had more than 2 in one go.

That wasn't every night but I don't see any harm in a 'bit of what you fancy does you good'

PutThatInYourPipeandSmokeIt · 08/02/2008 22:05

current advice on the BUPA website

horseshoe · 08/02/2008 22:36

I'm sorry if this is controversial but why on earth anyone wants to drink so much during pregnancy when you know the risks is beyond me.

It's 9 months of your life...hardly hard going. You wouldn't shove a glass down a newborns neck would you???

If anyone has had a kid with something wrong...then they know that you never stop blaming yourself.....even if it seems unrelated.

I'm not suggesting a few sips is out of the question but if you need to drink daily even when pregnant then I think you should get the same help as a smoker would to quit.

PERSONALLY...I trust recent medical advice as opposed to "a few years back" anyway.

Cedes · 09/02/2008 05:22

I agree that the government has changed the guidelines in order to exert control over women when they are pregnant and the changes were made because they didn't trust us to make up our decisions.

FAS is quite rare and a pregnant person has to drink up to ten units a day, throughout the whole pregnancy, for the baby to develop FAS and even then it is only about 25% chance! If you read any peer reviewed articles or medical journals you can see the evidence in black and white - drinking in moderation during pregancy is ok - but the problem is the world moderation, and because it can be (and IS) interpreted differently the advice from the govt and health care community is to abstain...

Trust yourself, I think is the best advice, I would certainly never comment on a friend's drinking unless she specifically asked for my opinion!!

lljkk · 09/02/2008 08:56

Doesn't it depend what kind of wine OP's friend was drinking, though? And over how large a period of time?
We buy the potent stuff at 13% or so alcohol by volume, and 2 glasses a day of that stuff even scares me (who when pregnant still drank the occasional full glass of our wine).
But 2 glasses/day of cheapo Lambrusco style wine (1-2%), especially if drunk over a many hour period -- wouldn't think it could pose any risk except to an preggo anorexic.

Sunshinemummy · 09/02/2008 09:09

I'm 11 weeks and I've had about 5 units of alcohol. I will probably continue to have the odd glass when we're doing something special, which is the approach I took with DS.

morningpaper · 09/02/2008 09:09

I drank 1-2 units a day max, plus 3 bottles of beer as soon as I went into labour...

IndigoMoon · 09/02/2008 09:29

i had the odd units per week with dd and far far less than that when pregnant with ds.

minervaitalica · 09/02/2008 13:57

I am not sure about this "Italian women are told drinking in pregnancy is OK" argument actually. The advice I got from my obstetrician there is that although the odd glass of red wine is unlikely to cause damage it is better to abstain altogether, and my friends got exactly the same advice from theirs.

Depending on the size of glass of wine, your friend could be drinking as much as 3-4 units a day, which is 21-28 units a week... That is above the current recommended limit for non-pregnant women so I cannot believe that this is a healthy amount when you are pregnant. I am sorry but I think I would have a word...

daisy26 · 09/02/2008 15:52

I am 12weeks pregnant and i found out at xmas since then-I have been out and have had maybe 1 or 2 drinks as my limit and that is it. I am quite proud of myslelf but then im not one fo these people, who has to drink to have fun.

motherinferior · 09/02/2008 18:03

Since you ask, Horseshoe, I absolutely fcking loathed every single moment of both my pregnancies (and found the first - unplanned - one particularly unpleasant because I felt as if I was never alone). A - small - glass of wine a day was one of the few things that made it bearable.

TotalChaos · 09/02/2008 18:12

at the time MI was PG, I imagine the advice was same as when I was PG - which according to government website (FSA) one unit per day was OK. With regard to Kacy - I would leave the health advice to her GP/mw.

motherinferior · 09/02/2008 18:26

Oh and I'd drunk like a fish before finding out I was pregnant. And then, in major denial, downing half a bottle of champagne ('I can't drink if I'm pregnant, and I'm drinking, so that means I can't be pregnant') on my 37th birthday, before buying a pregnancy test.

Which was probably not a madly good idea from the point of foetal development and all, I fully concede.

Oddly enough I drink a lot less now than I've ever done before.

horseshoe · 09/02/2008 19:25

Doesn't that Prove my point then MI....that if you NEED a glass a wine to make a situation bearable then you should receive advice to cut down as you would SMOKING????

I just dont understand why MOST (and I say MOST) mums to be wouldn't dream of eating Liver or raw meat or pop to the farm and pet Lambs and yet so many excuses are made for why its OK to drink alcohol to excess. (By excess I mean over 2-3 units in one sitting.)

Belgianchocolates · 09/02/2008 19:35

I didn't drink at all for the first 3 months, because as I understand it the fetus develops at its most rapidly during those month and is at its most vulnerable. After that I stuck to 1 small glass on Friday and Saturday evening with a meal. When drunk slowly it shouldn't really get to baby at all I think. The liver will have mopped it up before then. It just seems to be comon sense to me not to get tipsy or drunk.
I didnt give up while ttc as IMO that could take years and I do like to have a drink and a bit of fun too. TTC shouldn't take enjoyment out of your life. How many babies do actually have Fetal alcohol syndrome because their mums had a few drinks before they knew they were pregnant? Not many I'm sure.
I also didn't stop during BF, but again only had the odd glass here and there, rather than getting drunk, after all getting proper drunk is not much fun anyway!

LeonieD · 09/02/2008 19:38

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

PortAndLemon · 09/02/2008 19:39

But on this thread, horseshoe, I've counted up those who have said how much they drank in pregnancy once they knew they were pregnant.

21 drank not at all or less than your "over 2-3 units in one sitting"

2 have drunk over 2-3 units in one sitting on at least one occasion.

So I don't see why this is such a big contrast to your other examples.

PortAndLemon · 09/02/2008 19:43

(excluding last couple of posts; now running at 23-2).

horseshoe · 09/02/2008 19:51

Im not judging ANYONE P&L. I'm just simply saying that it's a known risk....people know it's a risk and such help should be given if you do drink daily to ease the stresses as you would if you were smoking or taking drugs etc.....

I didn't ACTUALLY say that anyone was drinking in excess EXCEPT from that of the OP who said her friend drank 2 large glasses a night which would equate to 2-3 (possibly 4) units!!!!!!

PortAndLemon · 09/02/2008 19:57

I'm not talking about judginess.

You said

"I just dont understand why MOST (and I say MOST) mums to be wouldn't dream of eating Liver or raw meat or pop to the farm and pet Lambs"

and then

"and yet so many excuses are made for why its OK to drink alcohol to excess. (By excess I mean over 2-3 units in one sitting.)"

implying that the situation with alcohol is different from the situation with liver or raw meat or farm animals.

But all the evidence, from this thread at least, is that MOST mums to be also wouldn't drink alcohol to excess.

So I don't see how you are arriving at the idea that there's such a big difference in attitudes between the liver/raw meat/farm animals and the alcohol?

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