alcahol in first month

Hi,

I did not know that I was pregnant and drank alcohol in the first 2 weeks after conception would have occurred. In these 2 weeks I drank 8 out of 14 days. Mostly 2 glasses of wine and one occassion it was 3 glasses of wine and 1 beer. I am really worried about the effect this may have on the baby - I have read numerous articles about the effects on the internet and I am mortified. The articles say that the first month is the most crucial.

My partner and I dont know what to do? Generally, I am a healthy fit person.

Any advice of people who have been in this situation would be very much appreciated.

Thanks.

Ummm... I got absolutely SMASHED the week before I found out I was pregnant with DS - so far nothing appears to be wrong with him (he's TOO smart sometimes..)

Don't be too hard on yourself :hug:

Dont beat yourself up and i suppose welcome to the mother-guilt club! there is something/s we ALL feel bad about :)

I use to work at a neo natal intensive care unit....some of our babies where of mothers that used and abused alcohol and hard drug the entire pregnancy.......and while i would not suggest anyone go to that extreme, it was suprising how 'well' these bubs were. Yes their life was a little hard for a few days/weeks. But generally these bubs hit all their milestones as any 'normal' bub....

the egg takes a few days to implant and you had a few drinks a few times...now you know and can make different choices!

In the first two weeks after conception, the baby does not share mum's blood supply and will not be affected by alcohol. It takes this time for bub to settle in and make blood vessels that join in with the mum's.

Don't worry about you drinking during this time. Are you taking folic acid? This is important early on, and so if you aren't, you can start taking it now.

Same here got absoluty smashed before I know I was preg and would of been about 4 weeks then.

thanks for your responses though I am still very worried and concerned. Some articles say the first two weeks is ok as the embryo does not get any blood from the mum but others say differently. Its so confusing.

I have been taking folic acid for the past 2 months.

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Dont beat yourself up and i suppose welcome to the mother-guilt club! there is something/s we ALL feel bad about :)

I use to work at a neo natal intensive care unit....some of our babies where of mothers that used and abused alcohol and hard drug the entire pregnancy.......and while i would not suggest anyone go to that extreme, it was suprising how 'well' these bubs were. Yes their life was a little hard for a few days/weeks. But generally these bubs hit all their milestones as any 'normal' bub....

the egg takes a few days to implant and you had a few drinks a few times...now you know and can make different choices!

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:yeahthat:

having worked in the field of Drugs and Alcohol for 4.5 years before moving to where I currently am, I can tell you it takes a LOT of alcohol over a long period to affect the baby. A once off or the amount you have described is unlikely to have any long term effects. Please don't beat yourself up.

MG

I drank alcohol for the 2 weeks after conception with Cameron...and he has turned out just fine. Previous IUI and IVF cycles I had not drunk much, but that last time I decided to forget I had it done, so I would probably have drunk a glass or 2 of wine every night! I even had a glass of wine about 2hours before I got the phone call to say I was pregnant (I didn't think it had worked as totally did not feel pregnant)....that ended up being my last of course for the next 9 months.

Funnily enough I remember at my first attempt at an IUI the nurse and doctor told me to go home that night, have a glass of wine and relax - they said it would help me relax and therefore help with the implantation.

Don't worry about it too much, I'm sure it will all be fine.

thanks for the replies.

the articles I have read make me feel sick in the stomach. my partner and I have a doctors appointment tomorrow and going to tell him all the facts and see what he says.

Its good to hear that others have also drunk and baby is perfectly fine. I wonder why the articles say that any amount of drink can have effect, as it can really scare people like me :( I wonder what the risks are?

Hon- as horrible as some of these articles can make you feel, you really need to try and forget about it and focus on the here and now. You didn't know at the time and its not your fault. So many of us are in your boat at some stage! Those moments are gone so you need to find the strength to let go of them.
Besides, all that worry wont be good for your bub!!
Your baby has alot of developing to do between now and the time he or she is due so you have plenty of opportunities to take care with what you are ingesting from now on.
Just focus on the here and now, try to remain as stress-free as possible, and eat as healthy as you can and your baby is going to be just fine.
If you're interested, a fabulous guide to the perfect pregnancy diet is Francesca Naish's 'The Natural Way to a Better Pregnancy' (you can order it online).

Best wishes to you and your bub! XX

2 days before i found otu I was pg with Ds1 I sat and drank 2 (yes 2) cartons of beer with Dhs uncle.. I had no idea I was pg// I was so scared I had done something to the baby but the Dr reassured me that it would more likely cause problems if I drank like that all the time. My Dr also told me that if the drinking did anything I most lilely would have miscarried when my period was due..

ps ds1 is a perfectly healthy and a very smart boy

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Ummm... I got absolutely SMASHED the week before I found out I was pregnant

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here here......me too with DD#1.....

Whilst its good to be informed about all aspects of conception and pregnancy, sometimes we can be overloaded with the wrong kind of info...dont get me wrong, its good your concerned, but googling or searching for answers on the net sometimes creates more problems than its worth....

Oh. and DD#1 is our perfect angel....no probs here.;)

I think I was smashed when we conceived Charlotte lol

And I was in hospitality so drank...well, very often....Charlotte is fine.
And it appears that you certainly werent anywhere near a wasted as I (and Mel apparently lol) were after conception, so Bubba should be fine.


Seconding the folic acid here! And iron :)

Good luck with the rest of the pregnancy, and try and keep the mummy guilt to a minimum! You have the rest of your life once bubba is born to worry about being guilty! lol

Another one who consumed way too much alcohol on a few occassions after conception but beofre finding out I was pregnant.
Had my 25th birtrhday and a long weekend away in the blue mountains with friends where I was so sick from the amount of alcohol consumed. I also had been taking codrals as I had the worst flu and the doctors have all assured me that everything is fine with the baby

dont stress over it :) When I was pregnant with my first I drank 5 bottles of top shelf in a week and I was 3 weeks pregnant and didn't know! Jaidan is fine :)

I think we can all take away from this the fact that we are all **** heads LOL.....

Let our children never see this site :lol:

:rofl: milly!

So I conceived on the 27th of March (so drunk forgot to use protection) but didnt really think about it after that as thought I was too far along in cycle to fall pregnant so next weekend drank again - At least 1/2 bottle of wine, no dinner and 6 beers, the 5 days later had my third gardasil injection and then 3 days after that had a massive binger and consumed at least 6 full strength beers, 3 shots of liquer and 4 vodkas - over 12 hours mind you. WHAT HAVE I DONE. Nothing I can see on the internet reassures me and I cant help stressing over what I may or may not of done to my baby. Can anyone shed some light. Good or bad news is fine.

btwittey - :hug: Firstly congratulations on your pregnancy!
With regards to your drinking, there is nothing that you can do and no way of knowing what if any effects it will have on your bubba.
The fact though that many women do not know they are pregnant until well into the first or second months and many don't know until much later (or until they give birth!) means that many of us engage in activities that are not altogether healthy for us of growing babies, without ill effects, indicates that there may not be any impact on the bubba.
I know this does little to allay your fears, but take some comfort in knowing that many women have gone before you, and consumed much more than you and have borne healthy happy and complete children :)
When you go for your scans through your pregnancy they can do tests to show if the baby is malformed or suffering major illness, and although not perfect they do help to ease the stress.

The best thing you can do is to live a healthy lifestyle for the continued pregnancy and know that you are doing the best you can to grow a healthy child :)

:hug: try not to stress hun - there is nothing you can do about the past, you can only change the future.
Enjoy the experience hun, it is over all too quickly!

And Welcome to BB!

don't always believe what you read on the net. I did and eneded up freaking out about ever little thing during my pregnancy and didn't really enjoy it like I should have. I didn't know I was pregnant till I was 6 weeks :redface: I had about 6 weekends of being drunk atleast 1 out of the 2 nights every weekend!! I stopped as soon as I found out and had ZERO alcohol for the duration of my pregnancy and my baby is perfectly normal. They are saying at the moment that one glass of red wine once or twice a wek is ok. It's only when you drink on a regular basis during pregnancy (ie 3-4 glasses more than once a week scattered during the week) and getting trashed (like some ppl do) that causes permanand damage. Don't beat yourself up over it. I happens probably alot more than you realise!!!

:D