Little amounts of alcohol during pregnancy

[Cherry85]

During my first pregnancy I never drank at all. I have friends with 2 or 3 kids who have enjoyed the occasional glass of wine throughout pregnancy and my midwife also says that's fine..... but we are out for dinner on Saturday for a friend's birthday and I am really craving a cocktail.

Would one cocktail be an issue as opposed to a glass of wine?

17 weeks if that makes any difference

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder can occur after any amount of alcohol

At our antenatal class they played videos of foetuses changing behaviour after their mothers drank one glass of wine.

Honestly i'm shocked at the amount of people on this thread who are ok with it.

It shouldn't even be an option. I had a high risk pregnancy and had to give up practically everything I enjoyed but it's only 9 months you're sacrificing for your baby!

I know someone my age who's mum gloated about drinking during pregnancy. She has severe learning difficulties.

I had the odd small glass of something in my 3rd trimester but I wouldn't have had a cocktail because they're usually really strong with lots of different types of alcohol in.

Wow. I'd feel extremely uncomfortable as a bartender to serve a pregnant lady an alcohol drink.. I'm pretty sure if you disclosed it the staff would say no!

Just have a mocktail

I am pregnant and I wouldn't drink any alcohol, not worth the risk. I wouldn't even enjoy it because I'd feel guilty.

Don’t talk such nonsense.

That’s not actually true - the literature suggests it occurs after regular drinking throughout pregnancy, or it can occur after a solitary ‘binge.’

Hell the fuck no.

I was never more desperate to have a drink than to understand being pregnant meant taking absolutely zero risk.

If something went wrong I would never want to think I could have done something differently during pregnancy )however irrational).

Its not hard to just not have the drink. No one is pressuring you. No one is going to think you aren’t ’having fun’.

You don’t need it.

It isn’t shaming women. It’s following medical advise and guidance from the NHS. There are always anecdotal examples of good or bad but no one needs to drink when pregnant. Advise says not to. It’s nine months. People can do without.

I wouldn’t drink a cocktail whilst pregnant if you paid me a grand. But if it matters that much to you OP then go for it.

I haven't seen any posts here which appear to be trying to shame women. The reality is nobody needs alcohol and it can be harmful to a pregnancy, so for many of us 1-2 drinks aren't worth it.

I'm also sure that you're aware guidance changes over time, so what may have been OK in the past may no longer be considered OK now.

When are people going to start understanding Survivor Bias.

The fact your son was OK does not mean everyone will be OK.

France changed its guidance on this - recent public health campaigns say to avoid alcohol all together.

Why risk it, Jesus.

I’m sure one cocktail would be fine, but for a cocktail, I’d just go somewhere that does good mocktails instead. When pregnant with my first DH and I went to a bar that did amazing non-alcoholic mojitos.
Wine on the other hand, there’s no good non-alcoholic alternatives! I usually love a glass of wine or two in the evening (when not pregnant) but whilst pregnant I find I just don’t care at all, no desire for it. Sure, I could have 1 small glass here and there, but then I feel that if something went wrong would I always blame myself for having that small glass. There’s good mocktails, 0% beer, 0% spirits available, so just stick to those on an evening out.

survivor bias and anecdotal evidence.
there are enough kids out there who were also never diagnosed at all or with a false ADS / ADHS diagnosis.

Also - Mediterranean people don’t drink regularly wine while pregnant. Neither in France nor in Italy drinking pregnant is advised and well established. The only women I know who were regularly drinking were in fact on German and one English woman. Both countries have higher rates of fasd than the „Mediterranean“ ones.

Get a mocktail. Cocktails taste like juice and suddenly you’re tipsy/drunk. It’s not worth the risk. You only have a few months left.

It’s illegal to refuse to serve alcohol to a woman solely because she’s pregnant and doing so could constitute discrimination under the Equality Act 2010. Just FYI.

@wordywitchinteresting. However, probably isn't great PR 'slug and lettuce serve alcohol to pregnant women who later her fell down the stairs'. 'Wetherspoon serves cocktails to lady whose child ends up with fetal alcohol syndrome'

If you wouldn't be happy to mix it in with your baby's milk after they are born then you shouldn't drink it. The baby gets everything through your blood and if you drink alcohol then the baby drinks alcohol too.

That doesn't mean it will cause lifelong issues, but neither necessarily would a small amount given to a newborn. Doesn't mean anyone in their right mind would do it.

That post is very blunt, but it's not nonsense.

If you wouldn't think it's OK to put a few drops of alcohol in your newborn baby's milk (which most people wouldn't), why would you give it to them in the womb?

The placenta can't filter alcohol. If you drink it, it's going straight to your baby - and they are exposed to the same amount of alcohol as the mother.

There’s nothing I’ve ate or drunk today that I would happily mix into a newborn baby’s milk.

Should mothers be limiting themselves to breast milk or formula for nine months?

The proteins, sugars, starches, etc in the foods that you are eating do not behave in the same way as alcohol when they are absorbed into your blood stream and passed over to the baby.

Consuming alcohol whilst pregnant is really not much different to giving alcohol to a newborn in terms of the way it transfers to them through the placenta. The placenta cannot filter it.

I had a glass of prosecco for my birthday when I was 24 weeks and I think another glass of wine another time...have a cocktail if you crave it (although I don't understand it....the only reason I craved wine/beer was because I was sick of drinking sweet crap every time I went out and cocktails are just juice with alcohol mixed in)

For those saying, it's just a few months, it really isn't if you plan to breastfeed. I'm EBF a 9 month old so that's 18 months of pregnancy plus BF. The odd drink keeps me sane.

Why would you? You'll be able to drink during your whole adult life except for the short time(s) you're pregnant. It's not much of a hardship, surely?