No i don't drink during pregnancy and never would, you just don't know.

What follows in MY opinion on drinking during pregnancy, not a dig at anyone in particular

Everyone justifies it with "one is fine" or "in moderation is fine" I don't agree.

NOBODY know's if that one drink you had was drank at the exact wrong time and caused your baby some sort of harm.

I believe that there are many many things that it could still cause harm with much later in life that wouldn't show up straight after birth.

What if it is a cause for things we are told "there's no known reason" like depression, slow learning, ADHD, alcoholism, anger issues and so on, we just don't know and I wont be taking that risk.

At least I know myself that if any of my kids have these things that there's no explanation for I will know that it was not caused by me drinking, smoking or doing drugs during my pregnancies.

This might all sound a bit melodramatic but it's how I feel.

Years ago it was ok for women to smoke during pregnancy, now because they have found it DOES cause harm we are all against it.

I do believe the same will eventually happen with alcohol, it's a drug , a drug you wouldn't give your baby or toddler after they are on earth so why feed it through their placenta to them!!

I expected to miss drinking more than I do--I rarely (e.g., 2-3x a year) ever got drunk pre-preg, but most of my close friends are professional brewers and I'm a certified beer judge, so I had the equivalent of probably 6-7 beers/week most weeks and this was a big part of my social and professional life.

The point for me has always been to taste the flavors--I'm not a big fan of the buzzed/drunk feeling. This is why it sucks that I've had maybe 4 sips since becoming pregnant and they've all tasted completely gross to me (this was a big surprise). The thought of wine is also downright repulsive to me!

If, however, this changes, I see no problem with having small amounts of alcohol infrequently. I've heard the guideline in the US is 1-2 units of alcohol 1-2 times a week (for 2nd tri and beyond). The guidelines in other countries are much more liberal. Critically, I think a lot of these guidelines come down to how much self-control you have...you could probably (though I'm not exactly advising this and won't do this myself) have a lot more than what the guidelines say and be fine, but doctors have to be careful if they think that people might interpret something like "it's OK to have 2 beers every night of the week" as "drink as much as you want!". Not advocating anything irresponsible, but my sense is that small quantities of alcohol are realllllly unlikely to hurt you, and if it appealed to me, I would have small tastes of beer without guilt.

I've had two half glasses of wine since getting pregnant. Not together, one 1/2 glass of wine on two seperate occasions.

I miss drinking for the social aspect of it. I went to a big bonfire last night and all my friends were drinking. It felt odd to be the sober one, although I still had fun.

This being my only actual planned pregnancy, I have a son and a daughter...I havent indulged...Not knowing I was pregnant with my other two I drank and smoked before I knew and have always felt immesnly guilty about it..Though they are both fine smart healthy children. I just want a pregnancy where I took the best care of myself that I could. Not that I think a sip here or there is detrimental to anyone but like a few of the other poster you just dont know what the effects may be. I have to say that I cant give up my one morning cup of coffee

Ok. The bottom line is that there is no "ok" amount of alcohol that you can consume when pregnant. It is unknown at what point there is damage to the baby. There have been mothers that drank and did drugs the whole pregnancy and the baby is fine. There are mothers that do everything right and the baby has birth defects. Sometimes it is in gods hands.

With all that being said. I've done a lot of research into it and the baby's blood alcohol level is the same amount of alcohol in the mother. The problem is that the baby is so much smaller so if the mom has a buzz, the baby is drunk as a skunk and probably passed out. I would imagine it is very easy for the baby to get alcohol poisoning.

I have had a few oz's of wine with dinner at three times during this pregnancy. I'm at week 17. Rule of thumb (for me) is that I sip on the wine over the course of hours. The one night I think I drank 3 oz of wine over the course of 4-6 hours. Another night was 2-3oz over 2 hours while eating a large meal. Food will help absorb the alcohol and prevents it from flooding your blood stream. It still enters the blood stream. It is still a risk.

I made this choice after reading about over in Europe they actually encourage pregnant mothers to have a glass of wine to help reduce blood pressure. It is a personal choice, just remember with every choice you make, you make a choice for your baby too. It could mean irreparable damage.

When it comes to sacrifice, that is what motherhood is. Sacrifice for your baby. From the time they are conceived until the day you die. It's just how it works.

Just please remember moderation. Never more then one glass of anything in one night. Any more then that you are risking getting a buzz and getting your baby drunk. Any amount is still a risk and 99.9% of all doctors in the US will tell you just not to drink. Please be careful.

Honestly - no, I wouldn't drink any alcohol at all while I'm pregnant.
The issue for me is exactly how much alcohol would I be happy for my tiny baby to be drinking ... and the answer is none at all.

Just as I wouldn't give my newborn even one sip of beer, and wouldn't put a little vodka in my toddler's cup, I wouldn't share even one drop of wine with the baby in my belly.

I've been surprised, I thought I'd miss getting drunk but I don't. I actually miss the taste of alcohol! I occasionally have a sip of OH's drink if we're out, but tonight, as we're on holiday I ordered a glass of red wine. I'd really missed it, and a savoured it sipping it over the course of a big 3 course meal.

I don't know if it was The right thing to do, but it didn't get me drunk, and I really enjoyed it. I felt pleasantly relaxed.

I may have one more glass this pregnancy, on my birthday in May.
This was always my deal with myself, 1 small glass on the occasional special occasion. That's just me though.

Definitely no alcohol for me during pregnancy, but I know plenty of other women have the odd glass here and there and it's up to them. I just don't want to take any risks with this pregnancy, and to me it's just not worth it. I have missed it from time to time but not enough to change my mind.

I wish I could have some champagne... but I know I will not.. so I'll have some perrier water with a drop of apple juice to make it look like champagne! it's not that bad! :P

Hi ladies. For an informed decision, I just wanted to add this tidbit:

Paper:
Aliyu MH, Lynch O, Nana PN, Alio AP, Wilson RE, Marty PJ, Zoorob R, Salihu HM. Alcohol consumption during pregnancy and risk of placental abruption and placenta previa. Matern Child Health J. 2011 Jul;15(5):670-6

Found that:
"Women who consumed alcohol during pregnancy had a 33% greater likelihood for placental abruption during pregnancy (adjusted odds ratio (OR), 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.33 [1.16-1.54])."

And RedMomma, very wise words "When it comes to sacrifice, that is what motherhood is. Sacrifice for your baby. From the time they are conceived until the day you die. It's just how it works"; Hope you don't mind if I use this some time.