Pregnancy and alcohol - would you?

faceman

Was in the pub last night and a girl was out with her other half enjoying a drink. She's 7 months preggers.

whats your views on this?

Dave!

Scumbag

tallaght01

old guidelines alway advised that a couple of units a week wouldn't harm a fetus. This is quite possibly true, but the current reccomendations are that alcohol is avoided altogether in pregnancy. If you've ever seen some of the kids with fetal alcohol syndrome you'd probably agree.

Mossy Monk

I would say no alcohol.

watsgone

Wouldnt do it

Thrill

It's irresponsible to be drinking that close to giving birth imo. I mean, she only has to stay off the drink for two more months and once she's recovered she can go and get pissed all she wants.

Wertz

If I found out I was pregnant I'd need more than a drink...

Seriously though, if I was a woman, yes, in moderation. Getting drunk or drinking regulalry is irresponsible but I can't see why a small amount should effect a fetus any more than something which could be prescribed by a doctor or any more than some over-the-counter medication.

chump

thrill wrote:

It's irresponsible to be drinking that close to giving birth imo. I mean, she only has to stay off the drink for two more months and once she's recovered she can go and get pissed all she wants.

Shows how much you know. It's in the early stages of a pregnancy where the damage is done - often before a mother even knows she's pregnant.

I voted for, in moderation - but I will put a disclaimer on that - very moderate.

Black Swan

Women who drink during pregnancy are putting their children at risk. Men who offer pregnant women drinks are just as guilty.

FAS (Fetus Alcohol Syndrome) and the more frequent but less known FAE (Fetus Alcohol Effects) are one of the most preventable diseases affecting children (and later adults).

Links:
FAS in Ireland

tallaght01

the problem is, Wertz, that we can't start advising pregnant women on the basis of somebody saying "i dont see why" a small amt of alcohol should be harmful. The reality is that there's a well established fetal alcohol syndrome, which can be pretty horrendous. The more u drink , the more likely your fetus is to have it. But nobody knows what a safe minimum is. There have been cases in babies who's mums say they drank next to nothing. Therfore it's reccomended to stay away from booze during pregnancy. However, it's down to individual choice what you do, obviously.PLus prescribing medication in pregnancy is done very carefully, and with a lot of thought, as it's a danerous business.

Thrill

chump wrote:

Shows how much you know. It's in the early stages of a pregnancy where the damage is done - often before a mother even knows she's pregnant.

I voted for, in moderation - but I will put a disclaimer on that - very moderate.

If you have to put in a disclaimer then you dont know for sure. Isnt it better to be safe than sorry?

After all, it is only a couple of months.

SligoBrewer

DaveMcG wrote:

Scumbag

my thoughts on the matter exactly..

its just irresponsable to be doing it when you know its not you who'll have to suffer the conseqences.

MooseJam

You have to be 18 to drink in this country, surely the barman is breaking some law by serving her

niamh1975

I have no problem saying that I took the odd glass of Baileys while pregnant, and I mean the odd one, maybe two or three during the whole pregnancy. I cannot in all honesty believe that that amount of alcohol damaged my babies. However, it sickens me to see a pregnant mother drunk. My view is if it affects you what is it doing to your baby.

Chinafoot

Why bother risking it? You know it's not going to be good for the baby so why do it?

It's only 9 months. If you can't manage to stay off the drink for the sake of your baby then you have some serious problems.

Thrill

http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/preg/a/aa070997.htm

One thing is clear, if you are pregnant and take a drink -- a glass of wine, a beer or a cocktail -- your unborn child takes the same drink. Whatever you eat or drink while pregnant goes directly through your bloodstream into the placenta.


If you're having a drink, baby is too.

That alone would be enough to make me to stop drinking while pregnant. I wouldnt risk
it, but then i'm not a woman. It's up them if they want to drink or not.

sonners

My twin sister was 6 and a half months pregnant when we turned 21. She had 2 maybe 3 bottles of smirnoff ice that night and that was the only drink/smoke/drug she took for the whole pregnancy. My niece was born on time, healthy, no problems, but a week later we found out she had serious heart problems, she had heart surgery at two weeks old and will need multiple heart operations through-out her life. And when my sister found out about all this all she thought was 'I should'nt have had those 2 bottles'

Doctors have assured us that the alcohol had absolutely nothing to do with the problem, it had developed prior to the alcohol intake. But if ever found myself pregnant i would stay away from all smoke/drink/drugs while pregnant, so that in the unfortunate case that something may go wrong I'll know that there's nothing I could have done to cause it.

I wonder if its guys or girls saying women should'nt drink when pregnant, and if its women, do they have children? It'd be interesting to know.

My view on it is, yeah its ****ty, guys dont have to do it an all that. But when your pregnant its not just your body, you've chosen to share it and you should respect that.

G&T

Think also it depends on the drink,

spirits,beer,alco pops big no no

Glass of the black stuff every now and then not so bad,imo.

Sorry to hear about your sisters baby,I hope she will be okay.

Dave!

sonners wrote:

My twin sister was 6 and a half months pregnant when we turned 21. She had 2 maybe 3 bottles of smirnoff ice that night and that was the only drink/smoke/drug she took for the whole pregnancy. My niece was born on time, healthy, no problems, but a week later we found out she had serious heart problems, she had heart surgery at two weeks old and will need multiple heart operations through-out her life. And when my sister found out about all this all she thought was 'I should'nt have had those 2 bottles'

Doctors have assured us that the alcohol had absolutely nothing to do with the problem, it had developed prior to the alcohol intake. But if ever found myself pregnant i would stay away from all smoke/drink/drugs while pregnant, so that in the unfortunate case that something may go wrong I'll know that there's nothing I could have done to cause it.

I wonder if its guys or girls saying women should'nt drink when pregnant, and if its women, do they have children? It'd be interesting to know.

My view on it is, yeah its ****ty, guys dont have to do it an all that. But when your pregnant its not just your body, you've chosen to share it and you should respect that.

I'm a bloke and don't think women should do it. If I had a spouse and she got pregnant I'd have no problem dropping the booze for 9 months to support her.

KTRIC

DaveMcG wrote:

I'm a bloke and don't think women should do it. If I had a spouse and she got pregnant I'd have no problem dropping the booze for 9 months to support her.

Very noble gesture, I totally agree. I wouldn't have a problem giving up the drink myself if she did, it would probably make it a lot easier on both of us.

6th

Wertz wrote:

I can't see why a small amount should effect a fetus any more than something which could be prescribed by a doctor or any more than some over-the-counter medication.

If you are pregnant then there's alot docs wont prescribe plus alot of over the counter stuff says not to take if pregnant.

Rabies

MooseJam wrote:

You have to be 18 to drink in this country, surely the barman is breaking some law by serving her

There is no law to stop a woman from having alcohol is she is pregnant.
Everyone knows the health risks involved.
It is start of bad parenting if the woman wants to drink frequently while pregnant.

There was a girl working with me up until last week. She fell pregnant two months ago. Told her b/f, they broke up. She started drinking most weekends and getting pissed. After a few weeks she decided she didn't want the baby and had it aborted.
We all said to her that she shouldn't be drinking while pregnant. Didn't matter to her. This was before she opted for a termination

Blush_01

No way, personally. If you're pregnant and you choose to have one or two on a rare occasion, then that's your choice. I couldn't justify it to myself though. And unless my partner wanted to abstain too, I wouldn't really care one way or the other if they drank.

Oriel

Typically, she'll put a lot more harmful things into her body than a small amount of alcohol.

simu

No. I think it's wrong tbh. Why risk it? The thought of alcohol circulating in the fetus's bloodstream disgusts me.

CathyMoran

I think that women trying for a baby should also avoid alcohol - I would never drink during a pregnancy either, it just is not worth it.

cmurph

no alcohol at all for me...not alone the 9 months but also for the 6 months i breastfed both my kids too..

Femelade

when i was pregnant i had half a bottle of smirnoff ice when i was about 6 months pregnant. I started to drink it but just felt guily so i didnt finish it.

and for the poster who said "once the baby is born she can go out and get pissed all she wants"...eh...i think not!

Kaylee

sonners wrote:

My view on it is, yeah its ****ty, guys dont have to do it an all that. But when your pregnant its not just your body, you've chosen to share it and you should respect that.

I totally agree with sonners, I am eight months pregnant and haven't touched a drop since I found out. Believe me I used to enjoy a drop (or two) but I would never be able to have a drink while baby in in utero. My family were actually encouring me to drink - 'one drink won't matter' 'preggers women are out in pubs skulling pints and still having healthy babys' - that sort of mentality. My husband would go mad if he saw me having a drink and IMO it's horrible to see pregnant women drinking.

I know that it's entirely possible to have a baby with health problems even if you've just drank alpine spring water and eaten organic food throughout the nine months... but as you say, if you were drinking you'd always have that nagging guilt if something did go wrong.

This topic gets women very exited on baby sites like rollercoaster, many women have 'the odd drink' while pregant and resent being told what to do by other (especially the child-free/less, and men).

It bugs me though the drink mentality in this country... it's like we're obsessed.

sonners

Fair play to DaveMcG and KTRIC for offering to stay off the drink too, unfortunately I know a few guys who found out their girlfriends were pregnant and thought, 'nice one, now you can drive us to/from the pub coz YOU cant drink'. This obviuosly does'nt help matters!

EDIT: just to say that my niece is doing fine, you'd never know there was anything holding her back, thank god. Just proves to me that it does'nt matter whether you have a boy or a girl, all you REALLY want is a HEALTHY baby, unfortunately too many people forget this.

Kaylee

My husband also gave up drinking when we found out I was pregnant - which is a brilliant supportive gesture.

Glad to hear your niece is doing well sonners.

skywalker

DaveMcG wrote:

Scumbag

Little quick to judgement there over a drink arent ya?

Anti

To take the story to a more extreme. My best mates wife( She is a nurse, keep this in mind when you read on), when pregnant on the first child Would easilly drink a bottle of wine or two a night, Smoke a few joints. Take pills, Base speed, pure MDMA and cocaine. And Both himself and herself were happy to let it continue. And She reckons, as she is a nurse she knows things you see... That the only problem will happen is that the baby will be a bit smaller at birth... And not come out addicted to anything.... Needless to say i think she is a bit of a stupid Cnut who does not dererve the child.

Stark

Jesus, that's sick. When's the baby due?

Anti

She is 18 months old now. And they are on their second child 6 months old. Thankfully they are both fine. But for how long i wonder!

I swear some people shold be made to take a test before having kids.

Trinity

I'm almost 6 months pregnant and havent been drinking. I drank almost every night of the week before i found out, granted only one or two a night.

It wasnt even hard to stop. I just physically and mentally didnt want one.

First time i missed it was watching every one in the beer gardens over the weekend! But still not enough to have one. Its only a couple more months til he is born, its not worth it whether it harms them or not.

rubyred

I'm not a bit drinker anyway so probably wouldn't intend to (as I prob would have drank a good few times by the time I realised I was pregnant) but if I had a spritzer once or twice a month I wouldn't feel guilty.

sonners

Anti I know a girl who was pregnant around the same time as my sister (read my other posts) and took as much drugs/smoke/drink as she could. Her baby girl was very lucky to be born healthy with no apparent problems (she's around two and a half now). But the mother has the cheek to go around boasting about it. My sister nearly went for her one night and I would'nt blame her.

Some women have alot of trouble conceiving, some have terrible pregnancies and births and some dont have the luxury of a healthy baby. Seeing others completely take these things for granted as though they were their god given right can be VERY frustrating and hurtful.

Anti

sonners wrote:

Anti I know a girl who was pregnant around the same time as my sister (read my other posts) and took as much drugs/smoke/drink as she could. Her baby girl was very lucky to be born healthy with no apparent problems (she's around two and a half now). But the mother has the cheek to go around boasting about it. My sister nearly went for her one night and I would'nt blame her.

Some women have alot of trouble conceiving, some have terrible pregnancies and births and some dont have the luxury of a healthy baby. Seeing others completely take these things for granted as though they were their god given right can be VERY frustrating and hurtful.

QFT!

I have to agree with you 100% there.

flogen

Anti wrote:

She is 18 months old now. And they are on their second child 6 months old. Thankfully they are both fine. But for how long i wonder!

I swear some people shold be made to take a test before having kids.

Whatever effect it did/didn't have on the child, you can't help but feel that it's a bad precedent for her as a parent.

Pregnant women shouldn't drink in my opinion - it's not even a year of their lives and who knows what kind of consequences it could have on the unborn. As someone said already, it's not going to do them any good so why bother? Why think in terms of "it probably won't do them any harm, sure", especially when they can't be sure of that.

I dunno - this all goes back to my difficulty in understanding why people feel so compelled to drink. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a tee-totaler and will have a few drinks if I'm out or having a nice meal etc. - but if a doctor told me that I could never touch a drop of alcohol again, I wouldn't be all that cut up about it. I mean, surely you can have craic with your mates without being pissed and if you can't... well maybe it's time to find new mates!

Wertz wrote:

If I found out I was pregnant I'd need more than a drink...

Seriously though, if I was a woman, yes, in moderation. Getting drunk or drinking regulalry is irresponsible but I can't see why a small amount should effect a fetus any more than something which could be prescribed by a doctor or any more than some over-the-counter medication.

Yes, because a barman and a doctor/pharmacist are equally astute in medical issues arising from pregnancy.

/rant

misswex

I voted that every now and again is fine as I feel a alcoholic drink maybe once or twice isn't a huge deal. Anymore than that than I think that is a disgrace. In saying that when I eventually do decide to have children and please God get pregnant, I personally won't drink as like some of the girls here have said. Why do something that increases the risk of harming your unborn child. I still wouldn't feel judgemental if I saw a pregnant women having a drink, thats why I voted 'every now and again'!

Pythia

I wouldn't go near any of those things (alcohol, cigarettes, etc) if I found out I was pregnant. It's just not fair, you have to think of the baby too.

Thrill

Femmy wrote:

and for the poster who said "once the baby is born she can go out and get pissed all she wants"...eh...i think not!

That would be me.

Why not? If your used to going out drinking as part of your social life and give it up while pregnant, then I see no harm in resuming your social life once your back to normal.
Obviously there would be big changes but your life doesn't have to come to a grinding halt once you have a child.

rachums

thrill wrote:

That would be me.

Why not? If your used to going out drinking as part of your social life and give it up while pregnant, then I see no harm in resuming your social life once your back to normal.
Obviously there would be big changes but your life doesn't have to come to a grinding halt once you have a child.

Yeah but alot of people wounldnt want to leave there babies so they can go out for a night and socialising isnt as easy as you arent thinking about yourself anymore! Plus if your breast feeding you cant drink either.

challengemaster

Am 16,but I don't drink now (the most i've ever had is like 2 glasses of wine/champagne at weddings/etc - dont like drinking at all tbh) and i intend for it to stay that way. So imho its totally wrong, and plain stupid. not just yourself you're harming

Stark

rachums wrote:

Yeah but alot of people wounldnt want to leave there babies so they can go out for a night and socialising isnt as easy as you arent thinking about yourself anymore!

That's dumb. Okay, you're not going to have the same freedoms that you did when you were twenty-something and childless, but you can still leave the child with a babysitter/other half and go out every now and again. As thrill said, life doesn't grind to a halt once you have a child.

Jotter

I have 10 month old boy. Drank maybe 10 times (if even) throughout my pregnancy. I had the odd glass of guinness and a glass of wine here and there with a meal. To me that is fine. If I had a drink it would be one and one only and Id either sip it over the course of an evening or Id have it towards the end of the nite, just bec it was nice to relax every now and again.

I didnt drink at all for the 1st 3 mths, I prob had my first drink when I was over 6mths pregnant, I was far too paranoid before then and even when I did have a drink I rarely finished it bec Id be wondering in the back of my head if I was doing harm to the baby.

Drinking in (alot of) moderation while pregnant is ok, imo, provided you restrict yourself to the very odd glass here and there with a meal, not every sat nite down the local like the old days.

I HATE HATE HATE seeing pregnant women drinking pints or drinking more than they should (thankfully doesnt happen too often) and I absolutely hate seeing pregnant women smoking (happens far too often) and smoking is far worse imo.

With regard to going out after you have a baby, it sounds great in theory but in practice its not all its cracked up to be! First of all if you breast feed you cant drink, well you can but again it has to be here and there and you have to time your feeds so that you havent drank in the few hours before youre due to give a feed, expressing isnt as handy as it seems!! If you bottle feed its easier but you still have to be sober enough to cope with a baby if they wake during the nite and even if you leave the baby with the grandparents you still have to cope with being a parent the next day hungover to bits and that IS SO NOT FUN

The most I have had to drink since ds was born is maybe 5 drinks in a row, I was hardcore drinker in the olden days, like more than most men, and this is a complete turnaround for me. I enjoy a drink now but dont miss being pissed and going out is far more enjoyable now bec its such a novelty. Having kids changes your attitute to almost everything and alcohol just doesnt have the same appeal that it used to.

LOL at myself, just realised I went on more than I intended, Im sitting here with a well earned glass of wine (just the one!)and its going straight to my head bec Im such a lightweight now - for all the men, if your partners get up the duffer you should encourage them to not drink during pregnancy, you become a very cheap date afterwards and the mere smell of alcohol goes straight to your head

dame

I'm a woman and I say definitely no.

If you feel you can't do without drink for the short 9 months of your pregnancy, then you have problems.....big problems...like possibly addiction problems.

Think of the guilt you will feel forever more - knowing that you are the cause of your child's problems. Other people will know it too. They will look at your child and know you were a selfish cow who couldn't keep herself away from alcohol for a few short months.

Thrill

rachums wrote:

Yeah but alot of people wouldn't want to leave there babies so they can go out for a night and socializing isn't as easy as you aren't thinking about yourself anymore! Plus if your breast feeding you cant drink either.

Granted, but i did say when she was back to normal. That was meant to mean when having a drink would no longer affect the baby in any way.

snickerpuss

I wouldn't. I'm not a big drinker so it wouldn't bother me in the least.

Hate to see people smoking while pregnant. I have bad asthma and trust me your kids do not want respiratory problems.

flogen

Someone put it to me in a pretty simple way earlier - you wouldn't give your newborn baby a glass of wine or a pint of beer "here and there", so why should it be a trivial matter when they're still developing inside you?

@Jotter - firstly I don't think sipping makes much of a difference - you mightn't feel as much of an effect but it's still the same quantity going through the foetus' system. Secondly, if you're going to nurse a drink for the night, why would you bother at all? What exactly is there to get from one drink consumed slowly?