Is it true women in Europe drink lightly?

[Jokerette]

I read a study a couple months ago that said light drinking during pregnancy will not harm baby. So for the past several weeks I have had one glass of red wine per week, usually on the weekends. I have to admit it's been so nice but now I'm thinking omg am I making a huge mistake?? Did I do irreparable damage to my baby, or is that considered normal in some countries? I'm in the USA

 

[Sunseal]

I think it's one of those things that is down to the individual.. . There are lots of women that do drink lightly throughout pregnancy, and I'm sure one glass of red per week is fine!
Personally, I didn't drink with my first as soon as I found out that I was pregnant, and I am not drinking during this pregnancy either. It's just a personal choice and I would rather not drink, otherwise if something bad 'did' happen, I would be thinking "It was the alcohol. It was the alcohol." At least this way, I won;t be beating myself up over it, and it's only 9 months.

 

[Goods]

I think it's fine to have the odd tipple here and there, I have. I would do so more regularly if my DH (who wasn't overly enthusiastic about getting pregnant in the first place) hadn't turned into such a disapproving sod about it. I feel not pushing his buttons about it is a small price to pay for him getting me preggers. Hee hee.

I'm in the UK btw and I'm sure they only changed the advice from the moderate drinking is fine to absolute abstinence recently to cover themselves for the mums who interpreted moderate to mean one bottle of wine rather than two instead of one glass.

I think I read the same study as you, it's says the results of the study shows mothers who had the occasional alcoholic drink reported less behavioural problems with their kids when they're older. I've still decided once a month is enough for me though.

 

[Rcx]

I used to live in France and most women there would have a glass of wine a day. I have had a few glasses of wine in my pregnancy, doesn't do any harm x

 

[xxxLeoxxx]

I wouldn't worry about one glass per week. I haven't really wanted any alcohol yet during this pregnant but if I craved a glass of wine I'd have it.

We were in an Italian restaurant the other week and got talking to the waiter who said Italian women drunk during pregnancy. He said their attitude is everything in moderation.

 

[Rickles]

I think it's personal choice - My SIL is having the odd glass. I'm not - I don't think it would harm the baby but I just don't fancy it and as the other poster said, if something did go wrong I'd torture myself about whether it was the wine that caused it... Both my mother and MIL confessed to drinking as usual when pregnant with us, think the problem is what's "normal" now is a lot more than what was normal back then... Most people could only afford a couple of drinks max xx

 

[calm]

I don't think women do in Spain, I don't, but then again I didn't before being pregnant X

 

[Tigerlilyb]

I used to live in France and most women there would have a glass of wine a day. I have had a few glasses of wine in my pregnancy, doesn't do any harm x

Bizarre, maybe it depends on the region. In my experience it's a huge taboo in France and everyone seems very strict on it. There are these signs over every alcoholic drink and I see them all over the midwife's office and in some restaurants too:

https://www.freemanrecoverycenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/fasd-lady.jpg

Personally I'm not a big drinker so it wasn't a big deal for me to cut it out entirely. I've also omitted it from meals - contrary to popular belief only about 20% of the alcohol gets cooked off, and that depends how long you cook it.

 

[Yo_Yo]

The uk official government guidlines now (since about 2011) recommend no drinking in pregnancy. You even get alcohol with a picture of a pregnant woman with a red line through
I don't drink, and wouldn't want to, but I think the odd sip isn't a problem if you wish to.

But I don't think it's seen as socially acceptable judging by the looks I got when buying a 4 pack of beer in the supermarket for my husband!

 

[MummyToAmberx]

We're advised against it in the UK.

 

[immie]

One glass a week is absolutely fine. I don't drink but that's because I genuinley don't like the taste of alcohol. However, weird that I should read this today as my OH has texted me to say he's finishing work early today at half 2 and asked if I want to go for a drink. So I probably will have an archers and lemonade as it's one of the only alcoholic drinks I actually enjoy. Please don't worry about this, when it becomes more than about 2 glasses a week, then that's when I'd start thinking you should cut down. Otherwise, enjoy! It's not like you're necking back the vodka xxx

 

[MrsPear]

From the research I've read, I don't think you've done any damage, no.

Personally I have never been a big drinker so I have cut it out completely. I have occasionally (maybe once a month) put alcohol in my cooking. I know it is not all burnt off, but I estimate that if I put (for example) a big glass worth of wine in a bolognese, and then eat a portion of it (maybe a third depending how much I cooked) then I'm not actually having very much alcohol. I'm confident I'm not doing any harm.

 

[Jokerette]

Thanks ladies... It's really bizarre, I did not like red wine before my pregnancy with DS1, but for some reason when I was pregnant with him I craved red wine! With that Pregnancy I only had one or two tiny half glasses.

Then again with this pregnancy it has been a weird craving. Like I said I only have a glass once a week... I guess if it is causing me worry I should probably just not but on the other hand sometimes it is so nice to sit after a long day of work, put DS1 to bed, then out my feet up and enjoy sipping slowly on the glass.

 

[MindUtopia]

Yes, it's more common in Europe than in the U.S. that women would drink occasionally (and very lightly) in pregnancy. I'm American and grew up in the U.S., but live in the UK now. I know amongst my American friends it would be considered very odd to drink at all in pregnancy, but certainly I know plenty of friends here who had the occasionally small drink of wine. It's not medically advised anywhere (for liability's sake doctors, midwives, alcohol manufacturers are generally going to advise against it 'just in case') and you'll find the same warnings on alcohol in Europe as in the U.S. But culturally, I think the UK and Europe are very different in terms of alcohol consumption than the U.S. It's less taboo all around. You can drink alcohol in places in Europe you can't in the U.S. without getting hassled by the police, and there is less taboo about teenagers drinking, or taking children to pubs, etc. It's just more of an every day thing here, compared to the U.S., where it's more something drunken frat boys do. I did have the occasional very small glass of wine, maybe 1/4 of a usual glass, if that, during pregnancy, and I was offered wine many times at family events or other social occasions, by people who knew I was pregnant. That definitely wouldn't have happened in the U.S. and I would have probably gotten a few raised eyebrows just being in a bar and being pregnant!

 

[Gregsprincess]

Im in Cyprus and my doctor advised I could have a small glass of wine once a week, I had a small glass with lemonade in when we told friends about pregnancy and I had a small champagne for same reason with other friends. I wasn't really that bothered about having a drink before though

 

[Nikko88]

Many studies have show no impact on the fetus from light to moderate alcohol consumption. While others have found impact with even moderate consumption. There's a lot of variation in results depending on the study parameters.

A recent study (PLoS One 2012; second link below) showed that the impact on the fetus of any amount of alcohol greatly depends on variations in the alcohol processing genes of the mother.

The take home is that some woman process alcohol more or less efficiently. The greater exposure of the fetus to alcohol the more likely the negative impact.

I'm not a big drinker to begin with and don't process alcohol well (get tipsy and headachy with little consumption), so I'm just not partaking.

Links:
General article
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-...g-pregnancy-can-affect-childs-iq-8317300.html
Scientific article
https://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0049407

 

[lala222]

I honestly doubt a glass of wine a week is going to harm your baby. by the time it gets metabolized in your body your baby is hardly getting anything from it. that doesn't seem any different than non-pregnant women having a drink while breastfeeding their baby, and that seems socially acceptable. I personally don't drink when pregnant because I like to have a few glasses, not just one. So I abstain from it altogether while pregnant.

 

[superfrizbee]

I have the odd drink. Maybe one small glass of wine every month or so. I didn't in the first trimester though. I think one glass a week should be fine if it's a small one.

 

[bdb84]

It's not recommended in the US simply because Americans are horrible with moderation. This is all according to my doctor. He encouraged me to have a glass of wine on Thanksgiving (I was 32 weeks pregnant) and then on my birthday (36 weeks) and said there was nothing wrong with the occasional glass.

 

[Eriamel]

I am originally from Belgium, but live in the US and have been living here for the last 4 years.

I didn't know anyone in Belgium anyway that drank during pregnancy, but "Europe" is very diverse... mentalities differ a lot from one country to another. But I did have a friend from Latvia (Eastern Europe) and she was told that she could drink one glass of wine and it would be fine.

But I never really drank a lot of alcohol pre-pregnancy anyway.

Like people said, moderation, a tiny glass. But it's just a fact that everything in the US is big. the size small cup of coffee you get at starbucks here is the size medium in Belgium for instance. But a really small glass of wine would probably be fine.