Tonic water, freaking out!

[OptimisticRealist2024]

Went to a wedding yesterday and knowing most coke and lemonade have sneaky caffeine, thought I'd be good and drink tonic water. Couldn't face 9 hours of plain water and don't like squash or cordials and find orange juice too sweet. Probably had about six or seven small mixer bottles and now seen that tonic water/quinine is off limits but didn't spot that on NHS list! Am I screwed? Am only about 5 weeks and could easily have spent all day drinking booze had I not done an early test last week...thought I was being clever and now feel sick with panic.

It's not explicitly mentioned as a drink to avoid by the NHS from what I could see? It is a medicine to avoid but the quantities would be a lot higher and even then the studies cited show no known issues.

Follow only the NHS guidelines if you're in the UK then step as far away from Google as possible.
And read the guidelines properly as its often just a recommendation on how to prepare something, how often to have it, to avoid one specific ingredient etc.
I've never heard of tonic water doing anyone any harm in pregnancy, and if it did, I'd imagine it would have to be in regular, vast quantities!

That say to avoid having more than a litre a day......

It'll be fine, the guidance is because they have had cases where the mother has regularly consumed a litre a day, and the babies have been born with quinine withdrawal.

Your one off night of tonic water will not cause the same so nothing to worry about!

Thanks, I think this is what I needed to hear! Had a miscarriage in July so thought I had all the blacklisted food/drink nailed down - obviously not! This is bloody exhausting.

I'm sorry to hear about your miscarriage. Barely anybody knows the tonic water thing, so that alone shows it's really not an easy mistake to make or big danger :)

I only know because I actually did used to drink a litre of tonic water a day so I googled it!

I also had no idea about this! I was drinking loads of tonic and limes (as a substitute for sorely missed g+ts) until a couple of weeks ago. I wouldn't worry - I think you have to drink vast quantities, and the data about harms aren't reliable either way.

I'm still drinking it, albeit not as much.

it won’t cause any issues. I craved tonic water when I was pregnant and my child was fine.
Relax

I miss G&Ts 🥲 And it's hard to find a convincing alcohol-free drink at an Irish wedding!! But DH had sudden brainwave this morning about quinine being bad and so the Googling began...!

You really have to drink a lot of quinine for it to be bad, and continually as well. If you remember the TV chefs, The Two Fat Ladies, Clarissa Dickson Wright poisoned herself with quinine but she drank pints a day for years (to go with the vast quantities of gin!). A few littles bottles won't hurt at all.

What lemonade has caffeine in it?

I am about to make you feel so much better! 😂

I had terrible cramps in my calves when pregnant (waking up screaming in pain and all) and a midwife recommended drinking tonic to help. Which I did daily for the last couple of months of my pregnancy! Have a healthy well developed 3+ year old with no signs of any issues!

Pregnancy after miscarriage is stressful though, sending love! ❤️

I had my kids in the 80s. Whilst I wouldn't advise it now, we ate and drank just about everything you can't have now. Rare steak, blue cheese, pate, the lot. Tonic and the gin to go with it, etc etc. Obviously, now you know, you must lay off of things you shouldn't have. But please be reassured by the fact that many, many mothers haven't, not just tonic water either, and their babies are just fine.