Do you drink alcohol while you're pregnant?

[Ninni]

If so, how much/often?

Just a bit of unscientific research...

Oh thanks Dophus, I'll relax a little and finally give in to my peanut butter on toast cravings then!!!

Surely you could find a risk with every single aspect, not just of eating, but of living, if you annalysied it too much? In fact I'm sure you can as I'm so paranoid! I don't think anyone on here is advocating drinking in excess, but having the odd glass of wine, just like having a morning cuppa, is okay. One of my mums friends happens to be a MW, and she told me off for not drinking at my 18th birthday in May Reassured me that as long as I wasn't going mad with it, baby was already fully formed (was 15 weeks at the time) and having a few glasses spaced throughout the day was fine.

yeah i did give up caffiene too! shoot me down for trying to give my unborn baby the best chance of being healthy!

I have to occasionally glass of wine now I am past 12 weeks. I did the smae when pregnant with DD - in fact, i used to really look forward to my Friday night glass of red wine when I got home from a busy and stressful week at work.

To be honest, I think the tiny amounts of alcohol I drink pose far less risk to my unborn baby than getting in the car and driving every day.

I support every woman's right to make their own decisions about what is best for them, but those that take the moral high ground because they are "doing the best for the babies" therefore implying the rest of us aren't irks me somewhat.

Yes I did unintentionally again I did'nt realise I was pregnant and had a massive blow out in town with my mates for my 19th, a week later I found out I was 5 weeks pregnant

Never drank again whilst pregnant, I went to a 21st, had christmas, new year and a hen party but never touched a drop. I personally don't think it's right to drink at all during pregnancy because of the quite serious risks I also quit smoking the day after I found out.

Ooh that was'nt meant to sound so preachy, sorry

I don't drink during pregnancy because it's perfectly easy not to and to choose something else to drink, no hardship at all as far as I'm concerned.

Having said I don't drink at home anyway unless we have company for dinner or something when we might open a bottle of wine, or if I go for a night out with the girls.

Easy not to have a glass of wine on the company at home occasions, less easy to have nothing at all when on a night out, but they are few and far between now anyway!

I am also contradictory as I haven't this time given up diet coke. That would be far more of a big deal for me than giving up alcohol as it would probably involve withdrawal symptoms and everything...

The way I look at tea is that giving it up would kill me and that would be worse for the baby than the odd cuppa.

I did have the odd glass of wine (on my birthday and DHs). I didn't smoke either and switched to decaff tea and coffee.

I retched too much to drink much of anything during all three pregnancies. First trimesters were all hell to keep anything down so I drank nothing then.

Had one glass of wine in 2nd trimster with DD2 for our wedding anniversary.

With DD1 had a half pint of Guinness in 2nd trimester and then, about a week before she was born, I got to craving a pina colada like no one's business. So I made one at home and it tasted heavenly!

With DS, I had the odd beer in 2nd and 3rd trimesters. Didn't want wine at all.

That's about it.

I don't think 1 or 2 glasses a week can be harmful but I went to school with a boy who had Fetal Alchohol Spectrum Disorder, that scared the crap out of me when my mum explained what had happened to him, although I do realise this was because his birth mother was a raging alcoholic not just an occassional drinker!

Seeing him struggle through school and simple tasks kind of kept me away from drink whilst pregnant, although after my birthday blow out, I think we must've spent a week drinking , I was paranoid that I had somehow damaged my son! Which thankfully I did'nt.

I think I had consumed enough units for the 9 months anyway...

When pg with my 1st baby....I was so anemic....and I CRAVED Guiness !!!!

Never touched it before or after.....but if your body desperately calls out for it....it must have been doing some good ??!!
I drank quite a few pints one day..(just couldnt get enough!! )to everyones shock in the pub !! eeeekkk

So alcohol cant be that bad???
I also CRAVED peanut butter....!!!!

Science isnt always right.....they sometime mess up too when it comes to what we should & shouldnt have....

I say.....let your own body guide you...

If you feel sick after a couple of drinks......you know to stop !!

I would only think that getting very drunk could maybe have an impact.....but odd glasses here & there wont do any harm..!!!

Thousands of women get sloshed every night......without even knowing for some months they are even pregnant !!!!

(evolution wouldnt allow us to do this, if it was detrimental to the continuation of mankind..........oh..no...
look what the wine is making me say...hehehe)

sorry.....stupid humour is my downfall

Hell yes - couldn't have got through it otherwise !

That said, not in the first four months because too busy puking. Thereafter probably about 2 glasses of wine a week. 1 very large gin and tonic in Spain which caused DD1 to turn somersaults!

Yes I do. This is my first pg and I drink a glass of wine at the weekend. I don't think it is harmful in moderation (having weighed up the pros and cons) and compared with what I would normally have it is barely anything at all!

i think one of the major problems with the goverment advice is that it changed not because of any new evidence ,but because as a nation we are drinking far more than is generally good for us ,and whilst the vast majority of us recognise that the odd glass of wine is going to do no harm ,there are people out there who if you said ok 2 units a week is fine ,would then drink 2litres of strong cider a day .
one of the problems i have with alot of the evidence relating to FAS ,is down to the way in which evidence is collected ,if anyone can answers these questions ?

1. How were the women on the study chosen ?
2. what is the evidence ? in other words ,were the women routinely blood tested or was it anecdotal ?

Anecdotal evidence from people with known alcohol problems is notoriously unreliable ,so much so that the only way to get a true picture of consumption would surely be very regular blood alcohol testing .

Two glasses of wine a week after the first trimester for both babies.

Both good weights and bright and active children (they're 10 and 12 now).

Must add that the baby loves Cava If I'm worried about him not moving enough or whatever, and haven't got any ice cubes, I have a few sips of that and he swiggles around like no ones bussiness!!!

I agree that I also get rather annoyed with the suggestion that those of us who choose to have the occassional glass of wine are willingly putting our children in danger. I don't generally drink heavily anyway, only the odd glass of something if I'm out or at my DPs. But sometimes I just really fancy a glass of wine, which I virtually always have with lemonade or Seven Up or something, and considering how edgey I am most of the time, I like the fact it just calms me down a little bit, and i can relax. I don't see any harm in it.

But hey, I'm also on medication, should I stop taking that too??

Drank a glass of wine a day for a week on holiday when I was (unknowingly) two weeks PG (remember I only wanted white wine when my usual tipple is red but I didn't twig!) but not a drop since - am now 34 wks.

Not a big drinker so don't miss it. No caffeine until 3rd trimester but only because I couldn't stomach it - now happy with a cup of tea a day but no coffee.

a glass of red wine, as good as I can afford, at the weekends. makes me feel like an olympian goddess. fours days to go ...

I used to love a night out and a drink before DS. I also drank wine in the house a good 3 nights a week or more with DH and found a half bottle was never enough, I could drink a whole one to myself no problem - and on a school night too!!
I then fell PG at 30 and I had been drunk a few times (away for weekend and it was around my 30th) before I realised at 6 weeks I was PG.
After that I didn't really touch a drink apart from a glass of wine on xmas day and a baileys at new year. I was gasping (or so I thought) on a good drink/night out with friends. 2 years later I still have not started drinking like that again apart from the odd glass of wine with a meal or a few forced drinks with friends!
I have totally changed and Im glad I did take 9 months off to realise 1) What a bunch of fanny's folk are when they get drunk 2) that I drank too much before 3) I actually enjoy myself more without it.
Don't get me wrong, I still have nights out and I do TRY to keep up rather than be a stick in the mud but I fail miserably as when your not used to it, 2 glasses of wine are like a 3 day bender!
Im 23 weeks with 2nd and don't bother - much easier this time, my DH is allowed to drink a glass of wine without me throwing him daggers across the room!
If i havent had the baby by xmas I might have a glass of wine as im sure there's no harm in it but my long drawn out point is....it's not a bad thing to have a 9 month break, it's good for you and better for the baby but the odd glass of wine or beer will do no harm either.