Wine

CBS78

Ok, this may be a bit of a contentious topic but...anyone out there have a bit of wine since finding out their pregnant? I've honestly had just a half glass of wine 1x a week for the past 6 weeks or so. It's actually done a lot for my mental health (not that I should rely on it) because during my last pregnancy I just went nuts with it being so off limits. It became a bigger deal than it needed to be! I did a bunch of research and feel comfortable with my decision, but just wondering if anyone else out there has indulged...any been ok with it?

sillyfox

Nope, not worth any risk in my opinion. I like to mitigate risks any way I can and this one seems simple to me.

Kurrant

Some research says that a few small glasses now and again won't hurt and other research says that even one drink (even though its rare from one drink) can cause Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. As much as I am craving wine I would never forgive myself if I cause some badness so I just stay away. I was a bit of an oddball though. I didn't even drink when TTC unless I had my period. That was a killer going from a glass or two several nights a week to zilch. I noticed several on the April boards are still drinking wine semi regularly, there was a thread there about it. 

sarawifenow

I won't touch it. The way I look at it is that it is 9 months. I can give it up for that long easily if it means zero chance of a risk for the baby.

vinerie

I believe the OP asked if anyone else has indulged...not to be moralized at. Just saying'

sarawifenow

vinerie said:

I believe the OP asked if anyone else has indulged...not to be moralized at. Just saying'

It is a public forum. People are allowed to respond as they wish...and I did answer her question...no I have not indulged. Just sayin'.

vinerie

sarawifenow said:

I believe the OP asked if anyone else has indulged...not to be moralized at. Just saying'

It is a public forum. People are allowed to respond as they wish...and I did answer her question...no I have not indulged. Just sayin'.

You are correct. But I still don't see the need to moralize in this instance. 

proudparent2b

Nope! My doctor said not even a drop is acceptable. I've moved on to sparkling juice instead.

BuzzBee614

My last pregnancy in my 3rd trimester I had a half a glass here and there of red wine. It relaxed me and my fake contractions.

sarawifenow

vinerie said:

sarawifenow said:

vinerie said:

I believe the OP asked if anyone else has indulged...not to be moralized at. Just saying'

It is a public forum. People are allowed to respond as they wish...and I did answer her question...no I have not indulged. Just sayin'.

You are correct. But I still don't see the need to moralize in this instance. 

Eh it's a controversial topic. OP acknowledged that, so she should be prepared for all answers. Just my opinion.

vinerie

sarawifenow said:

sarawifenow said:

I believe the OP asked if anyone else has indulged...not to be moralized at. Just saying'

It is a public forum. People are allowed to respond as they wish...and I did answer her question...no I have not indulged. Just sayin'.

You are correct. But I still don't see the need to moralize in this instance. 

Eh it's a controversial topic. OP acknowledged that, so she should be prepared for all answers. Just my opinion.

I think it makes people feel better about themselves to state their superior choices in this one particular instance. Yet lots of people will support plenty of other unhealthy choices, like not eating right, not exercising, etc. (Hey! You're pregnant! You should give in to those cravings!) It's just interesting to me what the board is drawn to as "morally superior baby creating" vs. "treating oneself." 

sarawifenow

vinerie said:

sarawifenow said:

vinerie said:

sarawifenow said:

vinerie said:

I believe the OP asked if anyone else has indulged...not to be moralized at. Just saying'

It is a public forum. People are allowed to respond as they wish...and I did answer her question...no I have not indulged. Just sayin'.

You are correct. But I still don't see the need to moralize in this instance. 

Eh it's a controversial topic. OP acknowledged that, so she should be prepared for all answers. Just my opinion.

I think it makes people feel better about themselves to state their superior choices in this one particular instance. Yet lots of people will support plenty of other unhealthy choices, like not eating right, not exercising, etc. (Hey! You're pregnant! You should give in to those cravings!) It's just interesting to me what the board is drawn to as "morally superior baby creating" vs. "treating oneself." 

I agree that there is a double standard. For me personally, I am exercising, eating right, and not drinking alcohol. I don't think that this makes me superior than anyone. I was just stating that no I have not drank wine and this is why...that's all. It's not about making myself feel better (?) I already feel fine, thanks.

LadySamLady

I've never been much of a drinker so it would be weird if I started it up now that I'm KU. I know my mom certainly drank a glass of wine now and again (at least) while pregnant with me and I'm doin' just fine.

kbrands7

To answer op's question, I haven't and don't necesarily plan to at this point. However, if I end up with false labor from weeks 36-39 again like with DS, I'll probably ask my doctor if he thinks a bit of wine is acceptable to cool the contractions down some--or if he has an alternative option.

TXmamatobe

I'll throw this out there. I don't and won't drink during pregnancy but if someone wants to have a glass of wine in their own home while pregnant, I won't judge. What does bother me is a pregnant woman drinking in public as in, asking a bartender or waiter to serve them alcohol when they are clearly pregnant. It reallllly bothers me for some reason and I'll go down in flames for that if I have to.

tripledaggerWed95976

I totally don't judge others for having a glass here and there. However, my motto is: 9 months of abstinence is a very small price to pay for peace if mind.

BuzzBee614

@tripledaggerWed95976 it is hard to relay tone with typing so I want to say my response isn't intended to be snarky I just wanted to share my experience.

With my doctor and midwife's blessing about wine at the end of my pregnancy, I had complete peace of mind. If they said it was okay, I was not concerned.

sosweet487

It's so hard to not have a sip of wine for me... mostly because I work at a winery! Some days the wine smells absolutely delicious!

But in all seriousness I haven't had any drinks since I found out I was pregnant. My doctor said that I should be fine if I were to have a glass (just like how it is with caffeine) but I don't see myself taking any chances. I might have a taste if a new vintage or blend comes out but that's what the spit buckets are for

tripledaggerWed95976

BuzzBee614 said:

@tripledaggerWed95976 it is hard to relay tone with typing so I want to say my response isn't intended to be snarky I just wanted to share my experience. With my doctor and midwife's blessing about wine at the end of my pregnancy, I had complete peace of mind. If they said it was okay, I was not concerned.

@BuzzBee614 Oh I'm totally not doubting that. My current and previous OB both said one glass every now and then is fine- that's why I would never judge someone for it. When I said peace of mind I just meant that I'm a major worrier and I know it would just cause so much worry that it wouldn't be worth it for me, especially just for one glass

lalala2004

I've had a few sips, and I mean SIPS when cooking with wine. It was too hard to resist, and I totally sipped it out of a measuring cup. Classy, I know.

mrstmoose

Nope. Personally, I just won't. Not worth the risk to me. Professionally, I'm a social worker and addictions counselor and research shows it can harm the baby. And my doctor says no. That's enough for me. 

Not judging anyone who does, just saying it's not for me. 

eta: research

GemLei

I did with my last three pregnancies after 1st trimester, about 4oz a couple times a week. I haven't this time as I found out through routine bloodwork around 8wks that I was very deficient in folic acid so was put on meds and alcohol interferes with absorption.

TheThornBird

I've had a couple half glasses when alone, and convinced my family to let me have a shot glass of wine when I was with them a couple times, ha. I really, really miss wine. I made my SO promise to sneak in a bottle of wine for right after I give birth

asht17

I have had a couple glasses since I found out I was preg. A week after I found out I went to Jamaica for a wedding ( what timing lol ) I was trying very hard not to tell anyone as I was only like 4/5 weeks. I had a few sips of champaign and a glass of wine with dinner. 2 weeks ago I had a 5oz glass of wine that I sipped on for 3 hrs lol

It's getting easier for me to not crave it. I will probably have a glass with Christmas dinner.

saladflambe

I chugged some NyQuil (which contains alcohol) early early on when I was going through withdrawal from my anxiety meds and hadn't slept at all in 3 days. Not that it helped. But no wine.

ETA: and by chugged I mean nearly a whole bottle. I was desperate.

Clauni27

I have not had a drink since I found out. I really have no issue with anyone that does have a little wine here and there during pregnancy but I decided I would not only because I found myself wanting all of the drinks in early pregnancy. My symptoms have been relatively mild so far and I would often forget I was pregnant in the first couple of months. During these moments I would want to open a bottle of wine or craved whiskey. I even had a dream about gin once. Because of this I did not allow myself anything so I could keep reminding myself I was pregnant. It sounds a little crazy but it was better for me.
There are too many people saying it's terrible to drink during pregnancy and equallg as many people saying it's okay. As far as all of that goes just consult your doctor and if you trust them then follow whatever they say.
All of that to say, cheers to you and your wine drinking self!

AmmyBelle

I have had half a flute of champagne at a wedding, and I did so remembering that my Mom, who is European, her mother, who is European, and all the women who came before me, indulged while pregnant here and there, and none of us turned out with FAS or anything else really. 

I am not a huge drinker (though I do love me some white wine), so transitioning to a non-drinking was pretty easy for me, except in social situations. 

Anyways, you do you, I'll do me, but I wouldn't worry about the occasional glass of wine. Vodka, on the other hand, may be something different ...

Missingchampagne

My best friend drank the occasional glass through both her pregnancies (in her 2nd and 3rd trimesters only) and both kids are great.

I actually was on birth control and didn't find out I was pregnant until week 11, and went on a cruise and drank like a fish at 9 weeks... But I'm 16 weeks now and all is well with him. It's a largely cultural taboo and fetal alcohol syndrome is known to be brought on by deliberate, continuous drinking throughout the pregnancy, not the occasional glass.

BlueJuice

I haven't had any alcohol this pregnancy since finding out, yet. Myself, I'm comfortable with the idea of sips pretty much whenever (I have friends who brew and I'm not going to stress out about a teaspoon of alcohol), and around the end of the 1st trimester I would be comfortable with a half-glass or less when consumed over time with a meal. In practice I don't drink a ton in my regular day-to-day, so it's not hard to cut back for the most part. But especially in the 3rd trimester, a glass now and then wouldn't worry me at all. In reality I will probably hardly drink at all, because we don't drink around the house routinely (my DH abstains) so I would have to go out of my way, and when socializing it's actually harder to drink when pregnant because people assume you're engaging in Bad Life Choices. So declining drinks in those scenarios is usually the better part of valor, for me.

Jenly17

saladflambe said:

I chugged some NyQuil (which contains alcohol) early early on when I was going through withdrawal from my anxiety meds and hadn't slept at all in 3 days. Not that it helped. But no wine.

ETA: and by chugged I mean nearly a whole bottle. I was desperate.

Whoa. Did you wake up at 8 pm the next day?

Lillie0309

I have definitely had a glass, maybe 2 since I found out when we've gone out for dinner. There is no proof that a certain amount is or is not ok during pregnancy. With the lack of knowledge on the subject many boards elected to be safe rather than sorry and put it on the "no" list for expecting mothers. Given that each woman is different and metabolizes alcohol differently there's no way to have concrete info. If your doctor agrees with your choices and you believe it is ok, go right along! There are many crazy things on the "don't eat" list that are not banned anywhere else but the U.S.

arj14

I haven't, and I wasn't a big drinker before, but since I've been pregnant I've had a couple of times where I was really craving a sweet white.  Not sure what's up with that.

nerdymama15

No wine for me,  but then again I don't like wine and don't drink it anyway lol
Now I have had a couple sips of Dos Equis.  My DH orders it at a restaurant and I'll steal a few sips off of his.

Plus one of the pregnancy books I have been reading mentioned that a glass every once in a blue moon wouldn't hurt if you absolutely had to have it.

Edit:  Unrelated edit.  Wondering where the hell my profile pic went to?  I didn't change it. 

pelicanesque

I've done what I consider, quite a bit of research, and also recently read "Expecting Better" by Emily Oster. She goes through all the viable research available regarding drinking through pregnancy and this is what stuck with me when she tried to sum it up: If you eat a lot of bananas, like A LOT of bananas, that's bad for your baby. But no one tells you not to eat bananas. Issues with drinking alcohol while pregnant are due to binge/heavy drinking. Having a drink every now and then, slowly in small amounts, was found to not be harmful to the baby. Light drinking is considered ok in Europe and there are no more instances of FAS there than in the US.

I will add, that I bet that we're told to completely abstain because the (male) doctors out there thought that hysterical pregnant women "wouldn't know when to stop drinking", so therefore no amount is ok.

Pascal86

I think the real question is, how bad is this thread making you want a glass of wine?

If I wasn't in the middle of a lukewarm bath right now, I'd be SO tempted to pour myself a glass.

Dasha420

I contemplated whether not I should post this however I don't think that I would feel right if I didn't.

A few years ago I came across a study by a Russian researcher who looked into the effects of alcohol on the female ovaries. Alcohol is a substance that permeates our brain membrane as well as our ovaries and gets into our eggs with damaging effects.

One glass can have an effect on just one egg and can damage it. This does not mean that that exact egg will be the one that is fertilized however there is a chance that it can be and there's also a chance that it could be expelled through menstruation- we won't know.

Everything in moderation is OK. However in my eyes, everything is defined as food, fruits, veggies but alcohol is something that is a poison to the body that consumes it as well as the vulnerable forming body inside of it. I wouldn't drink- pregnant or not just because it is an unnecessary form of poison that is in manufactured by humans. There are other substitutes. This is my opinion and my choice.

BuzzBee614

@Dasha420 if that is true God have mercy on DD and all my future unborns because I have been drinking since I was 16, occasionally binge drank in college from 17-21, and then went on to become a respectable adult that drank 1-4 glasses of wine a week.

So according to this study and the thousands of alcoholic beverages I've probably consumed my eggs are hella messed up. I was drunk when I conceived this one so that's probably not good either.

My doctors have never mentioned this study, even when my husband and I went for a visit before starting trying to conceive. I think if this was a major concern they would have told me.

Dasha420

@BuzzBee614
I don't think it's something like you have a drink you lose an egg. I think it was more of the possible effects of alcohol on our eggs. We have a lot of them and lose a lot with their monthly periods.

I thought it was very interesting.

In my experience the doctors that I've come across don't seem to care enough to mention many things. They're very nonchalant about everything. I know that in other countries doctors are much more thorough not just in the OB/GYN field but all across the board. Again those are all my experiences.

lisaren

Wine, no. Now a jäger bomb. Heck yeah!!!


Just kidding.

alijeff2313

I drank wine with my last pregnancy and I do with this one. I would have a small glass every now and then. As long as you don't drink heavily or drink every day, my doctor said its just fine.

 There is actually a study out there, not saying I believe it or not, that states children of women who drank a glass of wine here and there during pregnancy were smarter than children who's mothers didn't. Just throwing that out there!! 

laurenmdrn16

MH works for the largest wine and liquor distributor in our area and would always bring home bottles they were considering for tastings at the stores. I actually ghost write a lot of his reviews for some of the fancier wines since he is not a big wine drinker (beer and whiskey are a different story!) and I am a total wine snob. His boss and their wine buyer have come to sort of rely on "his" reviews and opinions so we were a little nervous since he has no idea how to describe wine and he was up for a promotion based on my wine knowledge. Finally, he came clean and his boss (and the owner of the company!) thought it was hilarious that his pregnant wife is the one who knows all about wine! If there is a really special wine, I will taste, but not swallow, just to give my initial impressions, but no full on imbibing for me.