Alcohol in pregnancy

[Tiff]

I've had a sip of champagne at a friends wedding, and a sip of P's beer because it smelled so damn good. That's about it. I really miss being able to have social drinks.

I do agree that it's easier to say that 40 weeks isn't a long time if you're not into the stuff in the first place. When it's a part of your social scene it's really hard! I've been lucky though and my OH pretty much gave up drinking when we found out so I wouldn't be alone and the sole sober one on nights out. He had a few weekends (his bday, a batchelor party) where he did drink, but for the most part he's been without, like me.

While I miss my wine with dinner, I just won't risk it. If something were to be wrong with Baby Girl when she gets here I know I'll think back and worry that it was the sip or something that did it. Even if it wasn't, it's just how I am.

However, I am looking forward to being able to have a drink again! Woohoo!

 

[Neecee]

Can I ask a question to those who have chosen to consume alcohol whilst pregnant:

If (god forbid) something did happen to your baby in the womb or they developed something after birth, and it was discovered that it was a result of alcohol being in the mothers blood, what would you do?

The reason I ask, is because we've been told for the longest time not to drink whilst pregnant and now this report (which isn't even government backed) is telling us we can. I'm sure in a few months - even a year from now, they'll be telling us again that we can't drink whilst pregnant.

I think that with the release of this report, the media has failed to take into consideration the level of alcohol that is generally consumed these days, what with binge drinking and cheap booze etc... there are bound to be pregnant women who don't adhere to the guidelines (as people do now with the acceptable unit allowances per person) and take this as a green light to go out and get rat-arsed with the excuse that they only do it occasionally.

 

[Tiff]

There are Moms out there who don't heed the 'rules' so to speak. My friends know a girl who smokes and drinks. She'll have a double-shot drink (two oz of alcohol) and she'll have two of them in a night because she read she can safely drink "two" drinks a week. By drink though, I think they mean ounces, not glasses. So in essence, she's drinking 4 shots of hard liqour a week.

Oh, and smoking too. I've known lots of people who've smoked while they're pregnant. One reason (I kid you not) was that the "baby didn't have lungs yet", so it couldn't hurt them.

If (god forbid) something did happen to your baby in the womb or they developed something after birth, and it was discovered that it was a result of alcohol being in the mothers blood, what would you do?

Like fetal alcohol syndome?

Generally a few drinks here and there arn't going to cause FAS. As for the other stuff, it's hard to say. I know people who smoke/drink/do drugs (no lie.. I knew someone who did shrooms while in her 3rd month of pregnancy. She knew she was pregnant too!) and their LOs turn out fine. I also know Moms who have eaten healthy, exercised, swore off all nasty stuff, wouldn't even touch tylenol during their pregnancy and they've had babies who have had problems.

I think it all boils down to comfort factor, and what your idea of risk is. As for me, it's not worth the risk. However, I don't think that two sips during my pregnancy is going to lead me to any sort of problem. If Baby Girl did have a problem, I doubt that they'd be able to link it back to the 2 sips I've had during the pregnancy.

It's a tough (but personal) call.

 

[Lu28]

I had decided to go on the advice of my doctor at the start of my pregnancy. He told me that despite some reports to the contrary, a glass or two of wine each week was not going to cause any damage whatsoever to baby and if I felt like it, just have it but obviously be sensible at the same time. To be honest, mothers who get completely rat arsed while pregnant will do so regardless of what the latest report says, it'll just be something they can cling to to justify themselves.

 

[XKatX]

Can I ask a question to those who have chosen to consume alcohol whilst pregnant:

If (god forbid) something did happen to your baby in the womb or they developed something after birth, and it was discovered that it was a result of alcohol being in the mothers blood, what would you do?

The reason I ask, is because we've been told for the longest time not to drink whilst pregnant and now this report (which isn't even government backed) is telling us we can. I'm sure in a few months - even a year from now, they'll be telling us again that we can't drink whilst pregnant.

I think that with the release of this report, the media has failed to take into consideration the level of alcohol that is generally consumed these days, what with binge drinking and cheap booze etc... there are bound to be pregnant women who don't adhere to the guidelines (as people do now with the acceptable unit allowances per person) and take this as a green light to go out and get rat-arsed with the excuse that they only do it occasionally.

The report that I saw stated that it WAS NOT government backed (as I added to my original post), plus it also stated that the alcohol that could be consumed (according to them) was 1-2 units per week. Thats a small glass of wine. They repeated this several times.
I also want to add that I wouldn't now start drinking in my pregnancy beause of this. I used to drink a bit before my pregnancy - mostly after a stressful days work, so I don't really miss it that much, as I'm no longer at work!! As with all reports, there will always be people that take it to the extreme and binge drink after hearing this report. These are probably the same people that would drink throughout pregnancy anyway.
My main point is that they just can't make their minds up!! I don't like that we are dictated to like this - I wouldn't mind if they made a decision and stuck to it!!!

 

[alio]

I had decided to go on the advice of my doctor at the start of my pregnancy. He told me that despite some reports to the contrary, a glass or two of wine each week was not going to cause any damage whatsoever to baby and if I felt like it, just have it but obviously be sensible at the same time. To be honest, mothers who get completely rat arsed while pregnant will do so regardless of what the latest report says, it'll just be something they can cling to to justify themselves.

bang on. it's a completely personal choice based on the information and sources of information available.

 

[Neecee]

My main point is that they just can't make their minds up!! I don't like that we are dictated to like this - I wouldn't mind if they made a decision and stuck to it!!!

That's exactly what i mean. One minute it's ok, the next it's not.

 

[redberry3]

I think a lot of it is based on the fact that out of everything we have to "give up" so to speak and then go through, it would be nice to sit back once in a while during this rollercoaster and have a glass of wine with out feeling guilty or worried that we might regret it.

Have a had a drink? No, but that is my own personal choice.

I have talked to numerous moms who did have a glass of wine per week throughout their pregnancy and had their children turn out fine. I think it is just the paranoia of taking it too far.

FAS would happen if a pregnant mother drank her face off throughout the pregnancy. I have a little neice who has FAS and her mother was an alcoholic crack addict. (Thankfully her children have since been taken away.)

At the end of the day, it would be nice to have some solid proof so that those who choose too have a drink once in a while do not have to worry about causing harm or being scrutinized.

 

[happyfamily123]

I just think with how cautious most of us when it comes to eating healthy foods and not soft cheeses or too much caffeine or peanut butter why even bother drinking alcohol? I just do not understand.

How Much Alcohol Is Too Much?
It's clear that abusing alcohol during pregnancy is dangerous, but what about the occasional drink? How much alcohol constitutes too much during pregnancy?

No evidence exists that can determine exactly how much alcohol ingestion will produce birth defects. Individual women process alcohol differently. Other factors vary the results, too, such as the age of the mother, the timing and regularity of the alcohol ingestion, and whether the mother has eaten any food while drinking.

Although full-blown FAS is the result of chronic alcohol use during pregnancy, FAE and ARND may occur with only occasional or binge drinking.

Because alcohol easily passes the placental barrier and the fetus is less equipped to eliminate alcohol than its mother, the fetus tends to receive a high concentration of alcohol, which lingers longer than it would in the mother's system.

Mothers who drink during the first trimester of pregnancy have kids with the most severe problems because that is when the brain is developing. The connections in the baby's brain don't get made properly when alcohol is present. Of course, in the early months, many women don't even know they're pregnant.

Alcohol (wine, beer, or liquor) is the leading known preventable cause of mental and physical birth defects in the United States.

When a woman drinks alcohol during pregnancy, she risks giving birth to a child who will pay the price — in mental and physical deficiencies — for his or her entire life.

Yet many pregnant women do drink alcohol. It's estimated that each year in the United States, 1 in every 750 infants is born with a pattern of physical, developmental, and functional problems referred to as fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), while another 40,000 are born with fetal alcohol effects (FAE).

 

[Mo_mo]

One minute its a bad thing to drink then they say its not....Pregnacy is confusing everybody gives conflicting info on everything.....aaaarrrrgggghhhhh!!!

 

[Tiff]

One minute its a bad thing to drink then they say its not....Pregnacy is confusing everybody gives conflicting info on everything.....aaaarrrrgggghhhhh!!!

It's true. For every person you can find who says one thing, you'll find another who disagrees. I say it's best to do your own research and make your decisions based on that.

 

[redberry3]

One minute its a bad thing to drink then they say its not....Pregnacy is confusing everybody gives conflicting info on everything.....aaaarrrrgggghhhhh!!!

It's true. For every person you can find who says one thing, you'll find another who disagrees. I say it's best to do your own research and make your decisions based on that.

and definitely DO NOT google!!!!

it will get the best of you!!

 

[helen1234]

i think its ok in moderation, i'll ave a small glass with xmas dinner mainly to toast i prob won't finish it cos it just doesnt feel right and just don't like the taste of alchol to be honest.

i think it should be safer to say no alcohol than a grey area 1 glass a week. i saw someone smoking the other day and it made my hairs on the back of my neck stand up. there are drug addicts, chain smokers and alcholics they go on to have healthy babies but imo it just not worth the risk.
why do they waste money on these experiments i just don't understand.

 

[mrscookie]

I don't understand why it's so hard to avoid alcohol whilst being pregnant. It's 40 weeks out of an entire lifetime - surely it's not THAT hard to do.

completely agree my lovely,
I havent touched a thing for the past 26 weeks at least, and even before that I was weary of drinking around my fertile period. Non alcoholic pear cider for me-ATHANKYOU!
xxx

 

[Sarahkka]

I'd like to know what they (the researchers) classify as behavioural or developmental problems in babies, how they assessed or quantified/qualified such problems and how they isolated a certain amount of alcohol consumption to be a correlating factor.
And I don't accept such "results" until they've been independently reproduced several times by other research groups.
It's important to remember that, like any drug, alcohol has different effects on every individual's body. What's "safe" for one woman may not be for the next. Think about how some of us get smashed really easily, while others can hold quite a lot of booze. Our metabolisms all deal with alcohol slightly differently.
That's a big reason why there is no safe limit, according to most gov't health regs.

 

[brownhairedmom]

I had half of a cooler during this whole entire thing. I have to say that coming out of a social life that did involve wine with meals and drinking while out, it was very difficult. I don't agree with people getting drunk. However, I don't think the odd glass of alcohol is going to really make that much of a difference. I personally think that drinking even glass a week is too much, but if you're having some for a special occasion or even just to wind down occasionally if you really need to (i.e. significantly stressful times), it isn't going to do damage.

My opinion. This is a touchy subject that always brings out a ton of debate.

 

[elm]

I haven't drunk any alcohol yet either - not since my tww. I thought the placenta was quite effective at stopping the alcohol getting to the baby though (after the first tri when it's properly up and working)? I'm sure I've read that there's less of an effect on the baby if you drink during the later stages of pregnancy than if you drink while you're breastfeeding?

I'm planning on breastfeeding and co-sleeping which means no alcohol for me once LO is born as well as during pregnancy (unless I pump beforehand then sleep on the floor which doesn't seem worth it at the moment!). Will probably have a glass of wine at Christmas. I have had the odd craving for a glass of red but don't notice that I'm not drinking anymore most of the time.

 

[PeanutBean]

I saw this news article this morning and thought "What a pile of pants" If you have a glass or two your child is something like 40% less likely to have behavior problems" ... wth why because we gave him alcohol to chill him out so he is now less stressed. *shakes head* where do they find these scientists.

I'd rather stick to how its always been and not have any. Better to be safe than sorry in my eyes.

I rather take umbridge at the first bolded thing you've posted. They (whoever they might be) find these scientists at respectable scientific institutes, doing respectable and rigourous research in complicated environmental impacts. Any stupid or irresponsible news reporting news reporting has nothing to do with the quality of the scientists nor their research, only the quality of the media bigging up the results and extrapolating out of all sensible context. I've bolded the second bit because I'm not sure why you think it has always been recommended to not drink any alcohol, it's actually only been for about 4 years...

As always when this debate comes up I feel obliged to point out that studies on the effects of anything maternal upon the unborn baby are fraught with difficulty because it's not ethical to test most things. This means that all studies rely on complicated statistical procedures to try and decipher from all the possible things in a mother's and baby's life and link them to how the baby develops. I wanted to get the published report but it's too new to get online so the best I can do is this: https://www.newscientist.com/articl...y.html?DCMP=ILC-hmts&nsref=news2_head_dn15100 At least New Scientist knows what science is about and so reports sensibly and accurately unlike all the daily and weekly papers. This article quotes the scientist who carried out the research explaining how it is essentially impossible to associate the reduction in behavioural issues with the actual alcohol consumption as opposed to the lifestyle associated with people who exhibit these drinking habits.

And as for me, I haven't drunk during pregnancy, not because of the guidelines but because I don't see the point. It's known that alcohol passes through the placenta and that's enough reason to not drink for me. I won't start drinking after reading this because I decide for myself but then I'm lucky and have access to a world of science that most people don't to help me understand and base my decisions upon. I do feel for those of you who are trying to follow guidelines but as Kat said, it's not advice, it's the results of a study. And as Sarahkka said, until it's repeated and repeated scientists wouldn't recommend changing the guidelines. It does well to remember that science constantly advances and as new techniques are developed guidelines such as this will continue to evolve as we get a better understanding.

 

[cybermum]

Its only 9 months and I can do without for baby.
I can't remember where I read it but not so long ago scientists(wonder if its the same bunch!)were saying a glass of wine stops baby moving moving in your womb for up to 30 minutes,kind of makes them drowsy.

Wish I could remember where I read that (was in the Guardian or Times).

I can wait until bubba arrives,no sweat.
The smell makes me heave right now anyway

 

[aurora32]

Im on bubs no 5 and never drunk with any of my previous pregnancies and havnt done so far to date ive just drunk sparkly fruity type juice like schloer and tbh i dont miss it, its everyones own personal choice at the end of the day just wish these ppl would make up their minds as to what is safe and whats not and stop changing course halfway through.