At what point should you give up the things you are supposed to give up in pregnancy?

[jumpyjan]

DH and I are not officially 'trying' yet but soon will be and there is a chance I could have conceived the other night (just had a look at ovulation dates!)

So I have started on the folic acid, bought some decaff tea and guess I won't be having a glass of wine tonight.

Would you worry about all that yet or would you wait until you had a positive test?

I took folic acid from 3 months before we wanted to TTC and then once we started I gave up alcohol and absolutely anything that could have caused a problem. I was a tad obsessed with doing everything right!

I would wait till I get a bfp tbh, but thats just me, I don't think the embryo/foetus would be getting any blood supply from you for quite a bit after implantation. I seem to remember something about a yolk sac. But could be wrong.

I was quite slack both times. I never stopped drinking (was plastered on beer when I conceived no.2) and I think I was even still smoking when conceived number one (yuck!). I didn't start taking folic acid until found out I was pregnant, either. Obviously none of that was ideal, but hey, that was me. I was very virtuous once I found out I was pregnant though.

Thanks for your replies. Am on the decaff this morning but it really is not doing much for me!

Like Abstract says, I would wait until I got a bfp personally; if it takes a while you could end up becoming a tad obsessed and also resentful if you get a bfn(s) (I speak from experience). The one month I thought sod it, and had coffee, booze, took folic acid only sporadically was the month I conceived with dds. I'm pregnant with no.4 at the moment and still have tea and coffee, though I move onto decaf stuff after 3 cups

I didn't stop anything until I got a positive. The night before I tested I got pissed on vodka and smoked loads of cigarettes. People might think I'm irresponsible as we were trying but for me, I found it easier for many reasons to pretend I wasn't trying...

People find out they are preg at many late stages, and have healthy babies, I think if you are TTC it's going to be a max of 2 weeks before you find out, and most of that the embryo isn't even implanted in your body so can't absorb anything bad. Lol, I sound like I'm making excuses, but I wouldn't beat yourself up if you don't stop everything naughty before conceiving.

Of course, if you have trouble conceiving then it's a good idea to stop drinking and smoking as they can make it harder. That goes for dad too!

wait for BFP definitely. Except folic acid which ideally you should take in the 3 months before TTC'ing and then for the first trimester. Nothing the mother has affects the baby for quite a while. My obs told me on Wed that even though they recommend I come off all my medication as soon as I have a BFP nothing is harmful until after 6 weeks gestation. I think that's the most dangerous bit then 6-12 weeks (approx) as that's when all the organs etc are developing so what the mother eats or drinks etc in that time matters most crucially. Good luck!

apparently the sooner you go on the folic acid the better but forcing yourself to drink decaff tea isn't necessary imo. So long as you are not drinking a lot of it, a few cups of normal tea are no harm. You may find that tea and toast are a great help if you suffer from morning sickness. Just think of how much tea pregnant women have drunk down the years!!

There shouldn't be any need to give up on alcohol until you get a positive result but getting regularly bladdered is to be avoided if you want to be virtuous

Started on the folic acid a couple of months before i conceived, but that's about it so far (only 6 weeks along!). Personally would avoid decaff tea/coffee like the plague, I've heard it's decaffed using formaldehyde (excuse spelling!) which is used to pickle bodies! I really don't think a couple of regular cuppas a day will do any harm at all.

Don't worry! I've been pretty much the same as Kat2907 and was trashed at a wedding reception the evening before I took a test which was positive; I drank far too much that night, leapt around like a lunatic on the dancefloor, scoffed loads of brie and other yummy buffet stuff and had soft fried eggs with a full English for brekkie in the morning to get over the hangover! Took folic acid for a couple of months before conception and still drinking caffeinated tea (don't like coffee). Now 1 day overdue with first baby, so can't say how it has affected him!

Thanks for all the replies - makes me feel better. I did forget that I wasn't drinking and had a glass of wine at lunch today!

jumpyjan - your partner should cut down on booze/caffeine etc. and take a zinc supplement to improve his contribution to the mix and obviously if you can keep to a regular healthy diet your hormones will stay on an even keel and you are more likely to predicably ovulate and menstruate so you are more likely to conceive. Eating crap and mainlining espresso does not do much for your fertility because fluctuating blood sugar can affect hydration and thus cervical mucous secretions (guess who read too many books when she found out she had fertility problems).

Also IMMEDIATELY exclude from your life ibuprofen, hay fever medications like anti-histamines, aspirin etc. Paracetamols are fine though.

So don't go over the top, a few cups of tea (up to six in fact) a day will have no effect. But if you are the sort of person to have considered the issue, you are probably doing all the right things anyway

Good luck!

Agree with above about your partner, they can what they like once you are pregnant but should do their bit on the healthy eating till then I read somewhere that the bloke should also take folic acid?

I also think I heard that the fetus is most succeptible to things like alcohol at the beginning so you can put your head in the sand and get plastered if you like but it isn't advisable.

I gave up caffine and hay fever meds and tried to eat healthily whilst trying, and although I drank I limited it to one or two units which is the official advice for pregnancy anyway.

I guess everyone should do what is right for them, it can take a while to get pregnant but any healthy things will help you conceive