would you serve alcohol to a pregnant woman?

[tallybee]

But it's only recently that the 'official guidelines' changed from saying that the odd drink was not harmful to saying that pregnant women shouldn't drink at all. I may be an old cynic but my interpretation of that was that the nanny state thinks we are too stupid to understand units, and how much is OK, and therefore just told us 'for our own good' that it's none at all.
Of course getting blind drunk whilst pregnant is an awful thing to do but beyond the tabloids, there's just not the evidence to say that the odd drink is harmful.

 

[Natsku]

Moderate drinking (i.e. the occasional small one) is not necessarily harmful

 

[Lightworker]

I know the research is inconclusive and perhaps will always be, but I how is it that it is "not necessarily harmful" when alcohol crosses into the babies placenta and alcohol is a toxin? Wouldn't a teaspoon of alcohol be detrimental if administered to a newborn? I hope I don't come across as labouring my point I am only trying to understand. Im also going to try and google to see any research.

 

[Laura2919]

I dont think you should drink at all or smoke but its down to you. They do change so often you cant keep track. Its ok to have a glass, its not ok to drink, its ok to drink red wine. Blah, blah, blah. Just dont drink. That is the best all round

 

[smokey]

ofcourse u can refuse to serve if a customer is rude, ive done this myself. but for u to refuse to sell to someone because they wouldnt have their drink in a glass is beyond me! its part of ur job to pick up glasses and bottles and thats no reason not to serve anyone at all.
if this had happened to me id of complained to managment and refused to ever go back. you dont have the right to tell someone how they should drink their own drink

Actualy yes we do, we dont hand bottles over because they can be and have been used as weapons in the past plus they are often thrown by drunk people at passing cars and people leave them all around the river and we get fined.
Plus its policy not to hand bottles over because its filthy, the bottles are left sitting around on the floor in the warhouses and there has been plenty of cases of people being ill from the likes of rats and mice peeing on containers of bottles and such so we have plenty of reasons for not handing over bottles as do most pubs.
They can complain all they like but as my managaer said "go drink elsewhere then"

 

[smokey]

But if you are having even the one drink, how can you be 100% sure it is not affecting your baby negatively? Everyone metabolizes alcohol differently and I'm not sure where I heard this but I thought that whatever you ingest when pregnant, your baby will have first dibs on it, so even if you feel fine after one glass, it may not be so for your baby.

cant remember where I read it but Fetal alcohol syndrome can be caused by as little as one drink (rare but it has happened) its not just alcoholic pregnant women that risk it

 

[smokey]

I know the research is inconclusive and perhaps will always be, but I how is it that it is "not necessarily harmful" when alcohol crosses into the babies placenta and alcohol is a toxin? Wouldn't a teaspoon of alcohol be detrimental if administered to a newborn? I hope I don't come across as labouring my point I am only trying to understand. Im also going to try and google to see any research.

On the other hand though it was only about 10 years ago that they stoped completly putting alcohol in gripewater, it used to be a main ingriediant of it.
They started to stop it long before then but it was only recently that it actualy got banned from all brands.

 

[Laura2919]

You can also hurt someone with a glass.

 

[smokey]

Yes you can but short of only serving in plastic cups we cant do much about that, we can only reduce the risks where we can.

Edit plus most pub glasses are made these days to shatter int small peices when broke rather then jagged peices (well ours are anyway) so they pose alot less risk then a broken jagged bottle.

 

[moomin_troll]

bottom line is unless a person is under age or too drunk to be served (rude ect) bar staff have no right to judge or make assumptions about a pregnant woman having a drink if she so wishes

 

[Lightworker]

Moomin- my point of view was not based on judgement, more of a safeguarding the welfare of the unborn baby. Nobody has the right to judge, but I hthink people are morally bound to protect those that can't protect themselves iykwim, and that does not mean being judgemental.
Smokey- yeah my GP told me once they removed alcohol from gripe water it was less effective, and omg at the foetal alcohol syndrome after 1 glass.

 

[moomin_troll]

it is not the place of a stranger such as bar staff to act like they are protecting a unborn child when they do not no the person or how much alchol they have comsumed.

it was my choice to have 1 wkd when i went out on night because i like the taste, and i also bought my sister a jug of cocktail.....so i was buying alot of alchol but that member of staff had no idea who i was buying for.
so it wasnt the place of a stranger to tell me what i can and cant do. so this is why i believe its not the place of bar staff to decide they arent going to serve a pregnant women alchol

 

[Hayley90]

I would, as you're not to know who is consuming it.. and as a barmaid/bar staff, you could be serving heaps of pregnant people without even knowing - i myself got absolutely plastered on 2 occasions before i knew i was pregnant. Heaven forbid anything ever happened to H, that poor barmaid would never have known.

I would feel guilty, and sad for the child, just as i do seeing pregnant ladies smoking, or hearing of drug addicted pregnant women, but i wouldnt feel a personal desire to not serve them, just as i dont go and extinguish cigarettes, or steal someones crack.

x

 

[Mrs Mayhem]

I would serve them, because it is their right to choose. I completely disagree with drinking in pregnancy but it's not up to me what someone else does. If it was a friend then thats a whole different matter, but a stranger? their choice. As a waitress/bar staff you are there to serve, not to judge (I don't mean that in a nasty way!!)

 

[Lightworker]

Moomin- lets agree to disagree.

 

[sarah0108]

If i worked ina pub or something i think i'd have to get someone else to serve them, i wouldnt be able to but at the same time, don't want to interfere, bit like if they were smoking x

 

[Strawberries]

Yes I would serve them. Although I personally disagree with alcohol consumption during pregnancy, I know lots of women who may have the odd drink. As others have said, you can't be 100% sure who the alcohol is for at the time. I think I'd just be vigilant and refuse further service if the woman in question appeared to be getting drunk.

 

[polo_princess]

What about just doing what you're being paid to do and separating a personal opinion from a professional one?

I would serve a pregnant woman, its up to her what she does, and just because you refuse to serve her doesnt mean she's not going to drink or go get it elsewhere, it might not even be for her anyway, so really what is the actual point behind not serving them? Making a stand on your personal opinion on drinking through pregnancy?

 

[sarah0108]

What about just doing what you're being paid to do and separating a personal opinion from a professional one?

I would serve a pregnant woman, its up to her what she does, and just because you refuse to serve her doesnt mean she's not going to drink or go get it elsewhere, it might not even be for her anyway, so really what is the actual point behind not serving them? Making a stand on your personal opinion on drinking through pregnancy?

i agree actually, if you don't serve her, she'll go elsewhere.

Bit like when you drink underage

 

[polo_princess]

exactley ... which is why you always get that 1 shop that all of the underage people go to for alcohol, because the shopkeepers know you'll go elsewhere for it!!