Drinking During Early Pregnancy

Dala17

I've just found out I'm pregnant, about 4 weeks going by how it seems to be calculated, 2 weeks since the deed took place. We're both over the moon, this is our first time to be pregnant, but I am panicking as I have been drinking over Christmas, olviously not aware I was pregnant..My period is 4 days late now. I'm so worried I've done damage to the growing baby from drinking over this period and all I can find online is how important the first trimester is. Does anyone have any experience or advice on this, could there be damage done so early on?

Former Former Former

Absolutely nothing to worry about. The foetus is literally a ball of cells at this point, the main structures which could be affected by alcohol haven't begun to develop at all.

Ask yourself, how many other women find themselves in the exact situation as you? Thousands upon thousands.

Here's some research

https://cora.ucc.ie/handle/10468/13385

the_amazing_raisin

My wife had a similar experience and was concerned that she had been drinking over the Christmas holidays and it would affect the baby

I'm happy to report everything was fine and it seems a pretty common occurrence when pregnancy is a surprise Christmas gift

I don't think the placenta has even formed at this stage so you're likely not even passing nutrients to the foetus yet

I imagine to cause any harm to the baby you'd need to essentially hospitalise yourself with drink. I'm assuming you weren't at that level so you're probably safe

If you need some reassurance you can go for an early pregnancy scan. They're not exactly cheap but for peace of mind it might be worthwhile

Also, congratulations on your pregnancy, remember to relax and make sure your OH does all the work, you've only got 9 months to be pampered 😂

Dala17

Thanks very much for your replies, it's really put my mind at so much ease and what you say completely make sense. It's my first time getting pregnant and needless to say a surprise but a very welcome one, I completely panicked. Thanks so much again, and Amazing Raisin I'm delighted to hear your wife had a happy and healthy baby, congratulations 🎉

the_amazing_raisin

No worries at all, happy to hear it's going well for you

My best advice (other than not taking advice on being pregnant from a guy 😂) is to try and relax and take things as they come. You probably want to get some vitamins designed for pregnancy and start taking them, I know folic acid is pretty important in early pregnancy

Other than that, try to eat fairly healthy and stay active as much as you can. But if morning sickness has you on a diet of crackers and water and you've got SPD and can barely walk then don't beat yourself up about it

Going by my wife's experiences (we've got two, 6yo and 3yo) pregnancy isn't easy and takes a lot out of you. Just take it one day at a time and do your best and you'll be grand 😁

Also, you might need to preorder your buggy soon, we found out there was something like a 6 week wait on the one we wanted and we ordered it around week 30, ended up cutting it very close 😱

As others mentioned, it's absolutely fine.

But I would recommend going for an early private scan at about 8 weeks. They only cost like 100 euro.

The hospital won't see you until 12/13 weeks and it's a long wait.