11 weeks pregnant ate cake with brandy in! Worried

[prayingformyrainbowbaby]

Panicking!!

Been to a 90th birthday party today was careful what I ate. My mother in law (who knows I’m pregnant) gave me some birthday cake!

This cake was made/eaten by a family member who doesn’t drink and there were young kids and teenagers at the party. I ate a bit thought it tasted odd, but not to be rude had another bit, I then over hear a bottle of brandy is in the cake!

I’m such an idiot, why did I eat the cake/why didn’t I ask if it had alcohol in it

Before I knew I was pregnant I consumed an entire bottle of wine (I had the morning after pill so in my mind there was no way I was pregnant). My bright, happy and very healthy three year old is currently in bed.

Stop it. She only asked for advice.

It won't hurt your baby or cause you to miscarry. 💐

That’s exactly what I gave.

Dear OP, I feel in order to help you with this situation I must tell you what the doctor's advice to my mother was when I was born in 1946 as a premature baby.When I was eventually taken home and bottle fed he told her to put a tot of brandy in the milk every so often (I don't know the frequency though). She told me I always finished off the bottle that had a bit of brandy in it!

Yes. I remember stressing about having held my breath for a long time (just once) to try to get rid of my hiccups when I was pregnant, and consulted my doctor about it. Now I look back and think I must have been quite insane! So I know how hormones and worry can get out of hand, even without your sad losses.

But yes, do talk to your midwife. There are so many more restrictions and worries put on pregnant women than there were when I was pregnant 35 years ago, and I honestly think that the anxiety and guilt that they induce is as unhealthy as (if not more than) the actions themselves.
I was another whose doctor suggested a glass of red wine or some Guinness. Not to mention that most of my generation's mothers smoked heavily (mine was a chain smoker) while they were pregnant. Yet here all us boomers are. So that few millilitres of burned off brandy are absolutely ot going to affect your pregnancy.

I had brandy put on my gums when I was teething.

A small piece of cake isn't an issue. I was told 4 years ago the odd drink was fine when pregnant, appreciate that has changed now but appreciate that has changed since and evidence of low alcohol consumption is inconclusive (so no evidence of negative affects). The NHS advice always leans toward extreme caution anyway.

The food and drink you should avoid in pregnancy is a very small list, and some of it is needlessly confusing and most of them are only recommended to avoid because of a tiny risk of listeria/salmonella/toxoplasmosis- and it's a very small risk in the UK.

@saraclara I'm desperate to know what your dr said when you rang up and got an appointment to ask about whether or not your baby would be affected because you held your breath to get rid of hiccups

He was exceptionally kind, and explained, without being remotely patronising, that oxygen levels in the blood don't deplete significantly after holding your breath for twenty seconds!

I was very fortunate to have a doctor who didn't just laugh at me!

Really don't worry, I did something similar and also have an intolerance of alcohol. The amount is really small, particularly after cooking and as another poster said the taste of brandy is much more than the alcohol content. It will have been a tiny amount, absorbed by the other food and drink you had.

Honestly, you could have had a glass of actual brandy and it wouldn’t have harmed your baby. 😊

Wishing you lots of luck with this pregnancy.

Really? 🙈

@prayingformyrainbowbaby

Im really sorry about your previous losses x. Are you past the point you lost the others yet?

I'm not surprised everything is worrying, it's understandable, if not rational x

in other countries women are trusted with facts, here they think (probably correctly) that it's better to say 'none' rather than leave it up to women to decide what 'moderate' means.

but the alcohol in cake isn't going to bother the baby one bit, promise xx

Really? Really you have nothing better in your life to worry about than this nonsense? Sort yourself out or you simply won't be able to manage when baby is born.

Brandy is usually fed into the cake after baking so won't have been cooked off but it will be such a small amount it won't affect you or your baby OP. 💐

Lucky you!

Thank you to all for for your comments, pregnancy anxiety is hard, to anyone who said the harsh or nasty comments be grateful you haven't had to worry over 'such a small thing'. We all find different things difficult at times, that's not to say I'm a weak person, or will be a bad mum - the fear of leaving a maternity ward again with just photos and hand/foot prints scares me!

If you don't have anything nice to say, keep your comments to yourself, one day you might say something upsetting to someone who is looking for comfort before they harm themselves - be kind!

Relax. When my mum was expecting me she was advised to drink 1/2 pint Guinness daily!

A little alcohol does no harm but because people can't understand moderation they switched to the no alcohol advice a few years ago. The concept of one unit is fine is just tricky, we rarely drink one unit.

Stress really will affect you do I would speak to orgs that support women following pregnancy loss for specific help. Please do report back once you have your baby successfully!

It's fine, even if it wasn't cooked off its not going to cause any damage

I know how anxiety can hit after a loss/losses. My last pg was torture . Have you spoken to the mw /consultant about it

@MakesMeFeelSad I had a midwife appointment today, she was lovely and also helped me realise the minimal effect it would have

As was mine. Woke my grandmother up (she was living with them while DF was away at sea) screaming that she couldn't wake the baby (me) up for a feed; the Guinness from the previous feed had sent me happily and deeply asleep.

Have never been able to stand the stuff.

That's good, I'm glad the mw was able to put your mind at ease. Wishing you all the best with your pregnancy

Charming. Really charming