Alcohol and Bub

[first_time_mummy]

Was wanting to know peoples views on drinking alcohol and being pregnant.

obviously it is highly reccommended that you dont drink at all during pregnancy.

But i was wondering if it is okay to have one beer, or an occasional wine?
Obviously not going over board and having 5 glasses, but perhaps one or two with dinner?

[Stevie]

in my on personal opinion, i thinks its best to stay away from alcohol all togther, i too have heard you can have the occaional glass of wine, but i dont see any reason as to why you would want to.
before i fell pregnant i used to have a few drinks with friends almost every weekend. as soon as i found out i vowed not to touch a drop lol.
Im not saying that if you do have a drink that your a bad person, so please dont get me wrong
xxx

[Tinks]

Personally I don't think it's ever ok to drink alcohol while pregnant.

BUT

I didn't know I was pregnant with my 3rd so for almost 7 mths, I had cravings for alcohol so I drank a bottle of wine a night and binged (like got blotto) on weekends. I wouldn't have done it had I known. I had to see a specialist at the Royal Womens Hosp who couldn't confirm whether I had done any damage to the baby or not until she was born. I stopped as soon as I found out I was pregnant. Luckily she is a healthy 6 year old now, there was no damage done. I would NEVER be able to forgive myself had there been something wrong. I still to this day feel guilty over it.

[sloane]

when i confirmed my PG with my GP, she actually said not to drink more than one or two servings a day, and no more than 5 (i think) a week. i was surprised because i thought i was going to get a talk about not drinking at all.

it didn't matter for me because i hadn't been drinking for about 6 weeks before i got PG anyway and i just haven't really been interested in drinking since.

i think if i really felt like one glass of wine or beer, i'd have it but so far it hasn't happened!

[Sammiejane]

Personally I don't think it's ever ok to drink alcohol while pregnant.

:yeahthat:

in saying that, somepeople do have a drink here and there.
I personally didnt drink anything from the moment i found out.
Sure there were times where i would have liked a glass (my bday, christmas, NYE etc) but i also had to weigh up the risk.
I decided that it really wasnt that much of a sacrifice for the health of my baby. 9 months isnt really that long, and would you ever be able to forgive yourself if you did do harm? (my opinion only)

If you are going to have an occasional drink. i would make it that, not regularly, not every day and no more than one. Again, my opinion, but i guess thats what you are asking for

Congrats on your pg

[buliej]

It is recommended to have zero- nothing - to drink while pregnant. There have been studies that show even small amounts can be harmful. As your baby develops over 9 months, it is my understanding that if you drink at a critical point of development, you could do harm and there is no way of knowing when this is. See quote concerning a study:
__________________
"During the first trimester," said Willford, "45 percent of the women drank, on average, less than one drink per day." Despite these relatively low levels of alcohol consumption, researchers found an association with subtle difficulties with learning and memory in the offspring at 14 years of age, specifically in the auditory/verbal domain. "This indicates that drinking during the first trimester of pregnancy ? has long-term effects on development. Many women do not realize they are pregnant and/or seek prenatal care during this critical time," said Willford.

"These types of deficits have already been demonstrated in studies with much higher levels of exposure," added Mattson, "and thus, these data extend the continuum of effect to include lower levels of exposure. Another important finding is that the effects of alcohol exposure on memory for verbal information were mediated by verbal learning, a finding that has also been documented following higher levels of exposure. This finding is relatively novel in the field and thus the replication in a lower exposed sample suggests that this effect is specific to alcohol exposure."

Yet another finding concerns growth deficits among those children exposed to light to moderate drinking during gestation. "These findings parallel earlier reports of continued growth deficits among those children exposed to light to moderate drinking during their mothers' pregnancy," said Willford. "This shows us that prenatal alcohol exposure can lead to deficits in multiple domains."

"There is no safe level of drinking during pregnancy and there is no safe time to drink during pregnancy," said Willford. "Women need this information before pregnancy recognition and their first visit to an obstetrician so that they may make better choices about drinking if they are planning to become, or think that they may be, pregnant."

___________________

Frankly, and I know this sounds judgmental, but I will say it anyway as I feel rather strongly about this, it is hard to fathom why anyone would assume the risk of having a drink while pregnant (assuming they know they are pregnant or are actively trying and it is post O-day).

[first_time_mummy]

I didnt realise i was pregnant til i was 6 weeks, and I was a heavy drinker.
Being 21 i was out almost every weekend with my friends, drinking it up and dancing in clubs.....
Of course i was totally unaware that i was pregnant.
I also had a massive party night for my dads birthday only a week before i found out i was pregnant.

When i found out i was pregnant i was totally mortified, i was so scared as to what damage i may have caused to my poor little bub...

I stopped drinking the day i found out i was expecting, and since then, have had only a few glasses of wine on my birthday, and one occassional west coast cooler (only 0.7 standard drinks per bottle)

I was just hoping the early drinking sessions i had have had no effect on bub?
I have my NT (down syndrome scan) tomorrow...can this scan pick up any abnormalities caused by the early drinking i did?

[Tinks]

I was 21 when I got pregnant with my 1st and drank heavily, just like you, up until the day I found out. He was fine. Maybe discuss it with your dr. But lots of people do get drunk before they know they are pregnant. Dont feel guilty at all.

[first_time_mummy]

ok...thanks

[Muffy]

I cant say for sure that no damage has been done because im not a doctor!
BUT i didnt find out i was pregnant till about 8 weeks and i drank heavily (and done other naughty stuff) and stopped as soon as i found out and now i have a healthy almost 2 year old!

[HotI]

I was just hoping the early drinking sessions i had have had no effect on bub?
I have my NT (down syndrome scan) tomorrow...can this scan pick up any abnormalities caused by the early drinking i did?

No, effects of alcohol during pregnancy are often not obvious until children are born and present in developmental delays.

The NT scan only gives you a risk figure for down syndrome and other chromosomal variations. Sometimes heart problems can also be hinted at.

[Mumma2three]

I think you will find it is very common for people to have drunk before they knew they were pregnant. I remember telling my OB when I was preg with DD1 that I was so scared as I didnt' know for 6 weeks and had had my bday overseas....thus lots of drinking! Anyway, he said he hears that all the time and not to worry. Which was good advice because it was too late anyway! I just stopped after I foudn out.
Saying that I had two beers whilst pregnant with DD2 and then with DS1 I had a wine a few times (prob about 6 all up over the pregnancy.) I also had a friend that had a glass of wine each friday night while pregnant. Try not to worry on what's been done just focus on future. xo

[alioops]

I had 2 strongbow sweets in the 2nd trimester. Only 2 for my entire pg this time. I dont remember having any with the older 2 but I may have. Lots of people do have a huge amount to drink before they know they are pg, and there really is nothing that can be done about it after that point. The occasional drink is not likely to do any damage, for example 1 a week or month. I am looking forward to getting some for a few celebratory drinks a few hours apart when Miss L arrives.

[Miss E]

I also had a couple of big weekends before I found out I was pregnant at 4.5 weeks. My doctors all said not to worry about it. However I haven't had a drink since I found out I was pregnant.

Yes, my doctor did say I could have a glass of champagne or wine if I wanted, but that it shouldn't become a daily, weekly or even a monthly thing, just on a special occasion. I have however decided not to have a drop, it's nine months of my life and it doesn't hurt me to go without, but it could hurt bubs if I don't, so for me the choice was easy. And, I know if I had one drink, chances are I'd want another, so it's easier not to have any

A lot of people do say that drinking in moderation is okay as it takes a lot to cause Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, however I have heard that even one drink will cause your blood pressure to rise temporarily, which in some way (even a small way) does effect your baby.