Wine whine

[rosegarden620]

Before pregnancy I'm an avid wine drinker. I love wine, always have a bottle in the fridge just in case Ive had a long day. A glass a day keeps the doctor away lol.

Well the moment I find out I'm pregnant, it gets put or thrown away.

Well, this pregnancy, more than any other actually, I've been hearing this a lot ...
"Have a glass of wine, a sip won't hurt the baby."
"It's just a sip."
"Now that you're done go and drink a hard earned glass of wine..."
"My wife drank a glass here and there and our baby is fine"
"Our doctor said a glass here and there is fine..."All from different people.

This has not changed my thoughts on drinking while pregnant. One, it's not for me, I would feel way to guilty. Two, as a RN in the ER I have seen the negative effects of alcohol on the fetus which does nothing for my guilt, and three my husband would never ever allow it.

But, this has got me wondering how many of us actually indulge in a glass "here and there", do midwives/mds really say it's ok for you? Are you from the UK (a lot of my UK friends say it's fine, per their providers).

I'm just so curious.

No bashing!! We are not talking about alcoholic behavior here, we are talking about educated women making informed decisions.

 

[ElsMommy26]

I was always curious about this as well. With my first pregnancy I didn't dare, until I went into false labor at 38 weeks and the cramps were unbearable. A nurse "unofficially" told me that a glass of white wine might help. It did! But here in the U.S. drinking even a sip while pregnant is not only frowned upon but judged very harshly. To even have a glass, I'd have to sneak around the probably drink it in the bathroom and who wants to go to those lengths just to feel like an alchoholic?? I'd honestly kill for a beer right now though. It's the only thing I'm craving.

 

[Lucasmum]

With my first 10 years ago I got absolutely wasted 2 days before I found out I was pregnant I wasnt trying and on the pill so when the doctor tested me as I needed antibiotics for an infection and decided to do it just in case imagine my surprise and horror when it came back positive I was terrified I had done damage and didnt touch a drop the rest of pregnancy, my DS is coming 10 this November and nope it didnt harm him and yes he is fine.

This time round was a little different I had (still have in fact) wine in my fridge that was due to be drunk but I was unwell so never got round to opening them and then for a few weeks was mega busy at work so didnt have time for a drink and before I could think about opening them there I was pregnant again havent touched a drop same cant be said for sniffing though

 

[rosegarden620]

I'm craving a glass myself!!! Lol

 

[Lucasmum]

I just keep thinking it we will be well chilled at least when I get round to having it

 

[maryanne1987]

Personally I wouldn't drink in pregnancy either, in the uk when I was carrying my son 10 years ago they said it was ok to consume 3 units per week, now they recommend avoiding alcohol altogether. They have big posters about it in the hospitals and GP surgeries that alcohol is dangerous in pregnancy. Weirdly enough though I've been really craving alcohol even though I don't drink at all, even before pregnancy. It's so weird!

 

[SleepyBaby]

With my 1st i was around 7 weeks and i had a night out, i came home early am very very drunken a week later i nearly fainted when i went to the doctors for a flu jab and he asked when my lmp was, id never kept track but i went home and counted up the weeks ran to the chemist got a test and up popped the two little lines!
He was fine, no damage done at all, which was lucky!

I have never known i was pregnant and had a drink, with my 2nd we where at OH's mums for dinner and they tried talking me into a beer or a glass of wine but i wouldnt!

There is alot of guilt nowadays about doing something you shouldnt but back in the day my parents drunk with me and there parents drunk with them and they where fine!

 

[Fruitmash]

My friend got told she could have 2-3 units a week and her LO is only a few months old. I think that like most other things, the advice tends to waver between healthcare providers, in my area at least. I have another friend who went out on the lash and got really drunk a couple of times. Her child is fine but I wouldn't recommend that. I wouldn't bother drinking, any issue I had I would put down to that glass and feel terrible

 

[MindUtopia]

I think in very small amounts on occasion (as in a few times here and there, not daily or even weekly) is fine. I had about a quarter of a glass of champagne with family (oddly, to toast them finding out we were pregnant lol), so maybe about 2 mouthfuls, and I think I had a half pint of guinness in there somewhere with a meal. And then once or twice, I had a sip of something (mulled wine at Christmas, mulled cider at a friend's house), but like a sip, just because friends or family had made something special and I wanted to taste it. I feel fine about that (and my pregnancy and my daughter who is 3 were perfectly healthy). Personally, it didn't really matter and I could have done without it altogether, but in social situations I think it's nice to be able to sometimes join in and have a token couple of sips. It's not something I would make a habit of, but I think a few times here or there in a pregnancy is fine and I was comfortable with that.

My understanding of the relationship between alcohol use and fetal alcohol syndrome is there is no real definitive data on the dose-response relationship, meaning, like some people drink a lot and don't have any problems and that it might have a lot more to do with an overall chaotic lifestyle (like in the case of someone who is an alcoholic and not taking care of themselves at all) and poor antenatal health care than drinking with any given frequency. You hear stories all the time about people who never even knew they were pregnant and drank like a fish (I read one the other day about a woman who was partying in Magaluf for 2 weeks straight when she was 5 months pregnant but didn't know it) and their babies are perfectly healthy. Still wouldn't be something I'd do regularly though, but on occasion I would think it's fine.

I do think it's largely cultural though. It wouldn't be too weird here to have a small amount of alcohol in pregnancy, as long as it was obvious you weren't having too much, and certainly the French and Italians do it. Alcohol use is much more normalised here (our pubs have play areas, which my American friends are slightly aghast at) and we routinely take our daughter to the pub while we have a few afternoon drinks and that's not weird at all. But I've had friends in the U.S. who have had people stop and make comments when they've ordered a glass of wine just out to dinner in the company of their children, not even when they were pregnant!

 

[loeylo]

I was absolutely wrecked the weekend before I got my bfp. We were away with friends and the thought if being pregnant didn't even cross my mind until the third day, when I was having random waves of nausea. After testing I didn't drink for a few weeks, but I had maybe one white wine spritzer every second weekend or so from second tri. Never more than one or never straight wine, always a spritzer. I even went on a wine tasting event which was booked before I was pregnant (I had a sip of each wine)

I'm of the opinion of everything in moderation, I was really careful my first two pregnancies and I miscarried, my third I was more relaxed but that was ectopic and on my fourth pregnancy I just relaxed and enjoyed everything in moderation. I never felt remotely drunk or even tipsy. My daughter is perfectly healthy and on track with her milestones.

 

[pompeyvix]

Just before I got my BFP with my Daughter I got absolutely hammered at a Christmas party - I drank loads, proper binge drinking. I was worried it would harm the fetus , but it didn't and I now have a healthy nearly 4 year old.

Saying that, as soon as I got my BFP last time and this time, I do not even touch a drop of alcohol. I have no inclination too as I very rarely drink except for big nights out and they are rare these days. I am not one to have a glass of wine after work or anything, so I find giving up alcohol pretty easy!

 

[rosegarden620]

Thank you!!!
I'm loving all the input!!

 

[broodymrs]

No I wouldn't. It's just not worth the risk for me. I have accidentally done it before knowing I was pregnant (last time not this time) but I'd never purposefully do it. I'm in the uk and the advice I've had here and where I used to live was absolutely no alcohol at all. I just have remembered in my last pregnancy my mil made a fruit salad with rum in it and I had no clue and ate loads. I was absolutely fuming at her as she couldn't see the problem

 

[lau86]

I don't think I had any with my first pregnancy, with my second and third I had a small glass of wine once or twice at the end (my first and second were 42 weekers so I have long pregnancies!!). I wouldn't do it all the time but I think a small one once in a while is fine (and I'm talking small, 100ml or so)

 

[alyssa.s]

I am in the US to start off. I turned 21 May 18th, and kicked it off at a winery. (Mind you Hubby and I have lived on our own since we were 18 and we drank when we wanted) and I LOVE wine, and apple ales. I found out I was pregnant June 7th, and was really sad when the wine-ing had to stop. To curb my cravings I have been drinking apple juice, and this new carbonated water from Aquafina which actually tastes super similar to champagne. I swear I told my husband the second I have our little man I am having a glass of moscato and some beef jerky.

Side note, I asked my Ob for fun and he said absolutely no alcohol. I think every doc/midwife has a different opinion. I also had a friend who drank a glass of red wine frequently during her pregnancy and her son was born with an enlarged skull and had to wear a helmet for 6 months. The doctor "couldn't say if it was certain the alcohol caused that, but it was possible"

 

[Jennifurball]

I have had glasses of low alcohol wine. I would feel far too guilty having normal strength and like others, if anything went wrong, I would never forgive myself.

As long as you aren't drunk or passing out from it, I personally wouldn't judge anyone who had the odd glass regularly. I didn't touch a drop with my first pregnancy apart from when I was due as I was out for a nice meal for my 30th birthday. Felt odd asking for it at the bar with a massive bump but it was delicious!

I do like my rosé wine and miss it when the weather is nice and everyone is out. So find if I have the odd glass in low alcohol form with ice and soda, it still gives me the feeling I am normal to some degree lol. I won't be making a regular thing of it as I do feel if it's too often, it could pose problems down the line. I think the babies with severe defects are probably from women who have serious problems and downing bottles of vodka x

 

[broodymrs]

Top 5 non-alcoholic drinks to get you through the 9 months (or more) of being teetotal
45
https://guides.letsmush.com/guides/45

Not sure if this link will open but if it does I found this the other day. Definitely looking forward to some of these!

 

[LynAnne]

I'm pretty sure that the occasional alcoholic drink, say at a special occasion, wouldn't do any harm but I wouldn't even dare drink as regularly as one glass of wine a week. I won't even drink at a special occasion though while pregnant. If something were to happen to my baby, even if it was unrelated to alcohol consumption, I'd feel terrible. That being said, that's just me. I'm not even a big drinker when I'm not pregnant, the odd beer or glass of wine at a special occasion or when I really fancy it. It probably would average out at one drink every two to three months! On Monday night though I was craving a glass of ice cold rose wine. I think it had something to do with the lovely weather!

 

[Pix]

I think as a previous poster said it is absolutely cultural. There are some countries who look down upon the US because of how highly judge mental they are regarding alcohol. It's a part of their daily lives and in moderation is ok.

I think the more important factor is consumption and timing. If you're pregnant and binge drinking you're going to have FAS. But a glass of wine or apple ale during the holidays or a fancy dinner shouldn't be judged so harshly. I just read an article on age and education playing a factor on this topic.

Personally I will indulge in a glass of wine during a holiday and take a good 2 hours to finish it. I also indulge in sushi and a cup of coffee on occasion and am always amused by the looks I get. Not everyone is the same and our perspectives and cultures are different and that doesn't always make it wrong.

 

[Jessicahide]

I don't not drink but i don't drink (iykwim) usually so it would be weird for me to take it up during pregnancy. For me it would just never be worth the risk, my aunt drank and smoked heavily during pregnancy and both her kids are fine, but that was just sheer dumb luck....