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Pregnancy

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

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Original poster

Drinking whilst pregnant

14 replies

Pinkpom · 03/10/2023 15:07

I am looking for some advice. Currently i'm very, very concerned and stressed as i have found out i am 16 weeks pregnant. Until a week ago i did not know, there were no symptoms to make me believe i was pregnant. I have been drinking weekly up until a week ago. About a bottle and a half of wine a week. I have even been on holiday around my 11 week mark.

I feel sick to my stomach knowing this now, i cried myself to sleep last night. What are the chances of me hurting my unborn baby? It's not even in the world yet and i feel like i have already failed as a mother. I honestly didn't know. I haven't drunk anything since i found out, nor do i intend to. I have been reading article about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and i am horrified. Any advice? Do i need to seek further help?

OP posts:

Cheetocat · 03/10/2023 15:10

All you can do is stop now and do your best to keep a healthy lifestyle. I think avoiding alcohol is more important after the placenta has taken over which has only been a few weeks at your point in pregnancy. Try not to worry, lots of people have this happen and end up with beautiful healthy babies. They'll be doing routine tests and scans on you to keep track of baby!

Cowlover89 · 03/10/2023 15:16

Your baba will be fine x

ringmybe11 · 03/10/2023 15:20

You didn't know, you didn't do it on purpose and now you do know you'll make the right choice. You can't go back and change it so there's no point beating yourself up about it. Let's assume the baby is fine then what you do now until the end of the pregnancy matters so just focus on doing the best you can from now on.

CLS89x · 03/10/2023 15:24

Bless you! Don't worry yourself too much it happens to a lot of people. There will be nothing to worry about as long as you weren't binge drinking daily then it's very unlikely that there is any harm caused. Don't beat yourself up!

PinkRoses1245 · 03/10/2023 15:30

You can’t change it, and you didnt know. That’s not very much to drink, really. The evidence around drinking in pregnancy is fairly limited really.

Cinai · 03/10/2023 15:46

Mention it to your midwife, I’m sure they will be able to reassure you. In the meantime, don’t blame yourself. You didn’t know and it doesn’t sound like excessive drinking, your baby will be fine and you sound like a lovely person with your baby’s wellbeing at heart, baby will be lucky to have you as their mum x

Blueskiesforecast · 03/10/2023 15:56

I think fetal alcohol syndrome is far more likely with binge drinking so as long the bottle and a half wasn't all at once , it shouldn’t have caused that and it has clearly not causedmiscarriage(the other risk). There are studies you can find online which go into more detail. Hope you can get a scan soon and find reassurance. I did read about a woman with who didnt realise/accept she was pregnant until giving birth(with a healthy baby) and she did all the things you’re not supposed to do https://amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/mar/31/cryptic-pregnancies-i-didnt-know-i-was-having-a-baby-until-i-saw-its-head

Cryptic pregnancies: ‘I didn’t know I was having a baby until I saw its head’ | Pregnancy | The Guardian

Klara Dollan spent nine months totally unaware that she was pregnant. The possibility only crossed her mind as she gave birth in her bathroom. But cryptic pregnancies like hers are far from unusual

https://amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/mar/31/cryptic-pregnancies-i-didnt-know-i-was-having-a-baby-until-i-saw-its-head

PickledScrump · 03/10/2023 16:04

It happens a lot more than you think. As long as you have now stopped and are taking all the things you’re supposed to take I’m sure it’s fine. Best advice I can give is stay off google, it will just cause you stress

Lauryn95 · 03/10/2023 16:13

I didn't find out I was pregnant until 14 weeks with my first , I was 19 and worked in a nightclub ,drinking heavily all the time no periods but they were kinda gone anyway cause of contraception I was on,I had no symptoms at all and I felt so so guilty when I found out I was even smoking!! Just glad I wasn't the type to be doing drugs aswell , it was the last thing on my mind being young and on the pill at uni and partying and then stopped as soon as I found out ofcourse ,I only found out because I went to the doctors to change my contraception and they did a pregnancy test first ,anyway my daughter is now nearly 8 and thriving she's so smart and brilliant , it happens to alot of women .If you don't know or suspect in anyway then you've done nothing wrong so please be kind to yourself

caterin · 03/10/2023 16:16

Dont worry there is likely to be no impact

I used to work for an alcohol charity and this question used to come in regularly -at least once a week- on our helpline. Something like one in three pregnancies are unplanned and you can bet alcohol often plays a key part in many of these!

For my job I used to have to read all the literature and research studies to feed into leaflets and other advice materials - the stuff on foetal alcohol syndrome was very grim reading.

The advice we gave out was that the research into the impact of alcohol during pregnancy shows that those affected were mothers who were drinking at high levels for the full nine months (and high levels I mean a bottle of wine or equivalent a day type thing). There was little indication of any impact at lower levels but the health advice is to stop drinking during the pregnancy (or limit yourself to a small glass of wine a week type thing)

So raise it with your Doctor/ Midwife at your next appointment and they will offer you further reassurance (and dont worry about all the scary stuff on the internet!)

XenaTheWarriorPrincess · 03/10/2023 16:43

As long as you stop now, the chance is very low.

Frequent heavy binge drinking or continuous drinking (like daily or close ro daily throughout) are what carry the biggest risk factors.

There's actually no concrete evidence that drinking small amounts infrequently does any harm at all, there just isn't any evidence it doesn't do harm either so it isn't recommended in some countries.

Pmd1 · 03/10/2023 20:09

Years ago the dangers of drinking were not known and women had healthy babies

Jmp1990 · 12/12/2023 07:54

I'm also now in this position, just found out I'm about 11 weeks and I've been partying , holidays, shots cocktails you name it I've done it! I'm so worried too :(

Original poster

Pinkpom · 13/12/2023 16:28

I'm 26 weeks pregnant now. I've had my checks done and a 4D scan. They seem on the small side but i have been assured by the sonographer that they look fine. I still think about what I've done everyday and it has been a constant cloud over me this entire pregnancy. I was even measuring the distance between their eyes on the 4D scan. I pray my baby will be healthy and have no learning difficulties because of my stupidity.

All i can suggest is that you be honest with your midwife/doctor and express your concerns like i did. I would also suggest avoiding online searches as i have probably read every FASD article and research paper online, to the point i considered late term abortion. It caused me a great deal of distress which i am sure has not helped my baby's development. Again, try to be kind to yourself. Like me, you didn't know and if you chose to keep this baby it will need a lot of love regardless. I hope you have a happy and healthy baby.

OP posts:

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