Alcohol in very early pregnancy.

Just want to get some feedback regarding the affects of alcohol on a baby in the first few weeks prior to and after conception.

DH and i have only just decided to begin TTC #2 soon so i have been drinking quite a bit of this delish white wine that my DH got....he got a great deal on a few boxes as we are big wine drinkers.

The plan was to begin detoxing this month once i got AF so to rid my body of all that yuck before TTC. I thought that AF arrived yesterday - but today there's nothing...and usually by day 2 AF is very heavy. I really don't think i could be preg as we r very careful...but u never know???

I actually conceived dd around Christmas/new yr when there was a great deal of social drinking happening - as we were not expecting to fall preg straight off - and she turned out absolutely fine.... but this time around i just didn't want to have that stress.

Again i'm confident that i'm not preg but am still interested in knowing the affects alcohol may or may not have in the early weeks.

Rae, don't stress too much, lots of people don't know they're pregnant & go out drinking.

I think before implantation there's not much to worry about.

I went camping with a friend last oct long weekend and needless to say it was a very Big weekend alcohol consumption wise. She didnt know at the time she was pregnant and her baby is perfect

Love

I'm wondering a couple of things about my 'permission' to have a couple of glasses of red over the next couple of weekends.

We're attending 2 weddings for 4 of our very close friends on the next 2 weekends (12th and 19th of August) and I was wondering about the effects of moderate alcohol consumption in VERY early pregnancy.

On this coming saturday, if I have not gotten my period on friday, I will be at day 15 (DPO) and if there is a little futurefamily member in there, they won't be attatched to a placenta yet and won't be sharing my blood supply.

I want to know if it would be OK to toast the couple with a champagne, have a glass of red with the meal and perhaps have another wine or ****tail that evening? All the medical literature I can find tells me that alcohol passes through the placenta but I can't find anything about it infusing through the uterine wall in a very early pregnancy. Everything I find that's like 'help, I just found out I'm 5 weeks pregnant but I've been out drinking every weekend' -seems to be reasonably positive that no real harm is done until the placenta and associated shared bloodflow is in place.

I'm not a big drinker at all and I don't drink much nor often but I do like to have 3-4 drinks if it's an occasion like a wedding or a big party and get all festive!!

Of course, if I don't have my period by DPO18 (the tuesday between the weddings), I'll be peeing on a stick to find out what's going on and if I am 'up the duff' then I'll be drinking soda at the 2nd wedding!! -I'll have to tell them all I'm on antibiotics or something to diffuse suspicion!!

I'd like replies from anyone who can help, especially people who have real medical knowledge on the topic.

I don't want to take any excessive risks but I don't want to be overy cautious if it's not called for either.

Cheers and thanks in advance,

Adèle

Adele - plenty of people have had a glass of wine before realising they were pregnant with no harm done. I think there is a big difference between having one or two drinks and going on a real bender. Both my fertility specialist and my obstetrician were of the same opinion on that one. =)

Yes the antibiotic ruse is a good one. And if you are pregnant you might not even feel like a drink anyway. It's funny how the body works ... sometimes you go off things you would normally enjoy as if the body already knows it has to protect someone else.

Thanks Melbo, that was quick!

I''m so impressed with the speedy replies at this site!!

I've heard stories of salt lovers going off their salt and coffee addicts (like me!!) getting nauseous at the thought of a cuppa, so you never know!

I've not been a big drinker for quite a few years now...I think I'm getting old! A big night out will mean 4 pints and then I'm totally tipsy...5 and I'm queesy -so I think a 3 drink night is where my happy personal limit is anyway!

Well it's good to have some reasurance that I can toast the newlyweds with a bubbley and not feel bad!

Cheers again,
Adèle

I consumed some alcohol during both pregnancies, ofcourse not in excess, although I didnt know I was preg with #1 til about 15wks & had been out on some benders!!!

I'd think a glass of wine or champagne to toast the wedding would be fine!!!

Thanks heaps for that girls...just needed to hear it from someone else. But on the bright side AF definately arrived this morn so phew...didn't need to stress afterall. It's time to quit the drink and move onto some serious :bd: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lol - i'd only just posted the same thing in the Conception thread!!!!!!!! Supposedly it's ok as implantation wouldn't have occured...and a few glasses here and there wouldn't be harmful :)

By rights, Olivia should be pickled. The day we concieved her I then went out and got totally written off drunk (makes me sound like such a lush, but it was a HUGE night.....) and she is totally 100% perfect.

My current pregnancy......wasn't planned.....and we suspect conception took place on New Years Eve......I was still BF Charlie, but I expressed a load of EBM for him so that I could indulge in a few wines, and it was the first alcohol I had touched in 12 months, so I was a cheap drunk, and again, wrote myself off......when I realised I was pg again I freaked, but asked my OB about it, and he said that September babies are often concieved on NYE, and are all fine!

That's what my doctor says too.

He says that technically, we can't do TOO much to hurt our babies until they are in our systems enough for THEIR effects to be felt on us!

And really, studies show that unless you are absolutely BINGE drinking every day of your life during the early part of pregnancy, the risks are quite small. And of course, if you're drinking THAT much, your chances of conceiving at all would be limited anyway because of the effects of the alcohol on your overall metabolism.

I was reading somewhere recently as well that current studies to in fact support a SMALL glass of wine every day for overall health benefits. I have a feeling it might have been red wine though because of the anti-oxidant properties (among other things). I have a brain like a sieve at the moment though and cannot remember for the life of me what, why or where it was!

Lisa

Adèle i drank wine when i was pregnant with Kimberley as i didn't know i was preagnant at the time. I don't think the odd glass will hurt just drinking too much is the problem. I think that's why they say no alcohol while pregnant.

I have merged these two threads for you all ladies...........

I was asked at my 12w checkup whether I partook in alcohol, and I said 2 glasses a week. The midwife tried to tell me to not drink at all, but well, to be brutally honest, that just aint going to happen!
I wouldn't drink more than twice a week ever during pregnnacy, and never more than 1.5 st drinks. So I'm not a saint, but I am a goodish girl.

As for drinking TTC. Two minds. If you are having trouble TTC, then alcohol by rights should be limited for fertility reasons. In saying that, I know of a couple of OB's who suggest a glass of wine might relax the uterus!
I was in Vietnam for the first 2 weeks of Jenna's conception, and I think I had about 40 cans of beer (if not 50??), lots of Vodka, and Jenna is fairly normal. A little hyper perhaps, but I lay that on her father and the genes from him!

moving to General Pregnancy

Thanks all! I'm feeling quite relaxed about it all now!

My current alcohol consumption is about 1-2 units/week at the moment (wine, pear cider or beer but not spirits) and perhaps every month or so I might have a 'huge' night with 3-4 drinks!!! -so I don't think I'm going to have to change my lifestyle too drastically!

Hun, Liebling's fine and I drank quite a bit in the first 6-7 weeks - well, not lots, but I was having a glass or two at the weekend and the odd glass mid-week too. Oddly enough, I just stopped even wanting to open a bottle after at about 7 weeks. I still have the odd half-glass and SiL used to have a glass a week too and her baby is fine!

However, remember that the baby doesn't implant until you're, what, three and a half weeks pregnant? So any drinking around or just after conception time won't affect the embryo at all.

I must admit this is something I really stressed about in the beginning for the first few months, I conceived just before Christmas and didn't find out I was pregnant until 21 Jan - and enjoyed a merry festive season.....but not too overboard... I spoke to my doctor and she also said it was if you were binge drinking everyday to worry - and I wasn't so I am sure all should be fine.

Laurin