Wine?

Mccolpitts

I've heard lots of different rules from Dr's and friends about alcohol while pregnant ranging from 'none at all' to 'every once in a while'. I've been too sick to even think about drinking but wondered what all of you plan to do/are doing. To wine or not to wine? 

dubcompanion

No wine or alcohol for me, period. I don't like any of it enough to take the risk. 

catrb89

I read "Expecting Better" and they detail some of the dos/donts of alcohol, caffeine, sushi, etc and the corresponding research. Here are some highlights about alcohol:

"Think about Europe. Much of the continent is much more permissive about light drinking during pregnancy. Heavy drinking is frowned upon everywhere, but some places in Europe have recommendations suggesting that a few drinks a week are fine. An occasional glass of wine or beer is much more common there. Yet there is no evidence of more fetal alcohol syndrome in Europe; if anything, rates are higher in the United States."

"When you drink slowly, you metabolize most or all of the alcohol before it would get to the fetus. If you drink quickly, your liver cannot keep up and toxins are passed to the fetus."

"It’s not that complicated: drink like a European adult, not like a fraternity brother."

There are more details about how alcohol is metabolized and how the author identifies good, solid studies, etc. She concludes 1-2 drinks/week are safe, as long as consumed slowly, like 1 drink over 1-2 hour period; then 2-3 drinks/week in the 2nd & 3rd trimester. It's a hotly debated topic, but my doctor is okay with minimal alcohol, and I feel comfortable with the research I've done. 
I'm going to stick with 1/week, if anything, through the duration of my pregnancy. Usually just a glass of wine on Friday nights, and  I'll probably go for my pumpkin beer this fall. 

autumnsilence

None for me, but I don't drink and I don't particularly like wine.

CanadianintheSouth

I didn't drink anything with my last and don't plan to this time either. I like drinking as much as the next person, but not nearly enough where I can't give it up for 9 months for my little one. I don't judge those who do drink wine sporadically though, each to their own.

DH just bought Fre, a non-alcoholic wine and we just had it for dinner. Also I had the Budweiser prohibition beer a few weeks ago and I felt like I was drinking an actual beer! I even had the hang over after (aka morning sickness) to make it seem even more real 

edited because words

Gators&BoSox

at the end I'm ok with the occasional drink like pp said about drinking like a European. I know a few woman who's dr actually told them to relax with a small glass of red when labor started. I had a mimosa at my shower and my dr. was fine with it. Since I'll be farther along this pregnancy during the holidays it might be nice to sip a little wine.

Mccolpitts

@CanadianintheSouth never heard of Fre! How was it? I'm gluten intolerant so beer is out anyway but a little wine flavor without the risk would be great! 

ShaunaT25

I had a few sips of wine at a wedding when I was pregnant with DS. But I don't know that I would do any more than that just because it's not worth the risk. 

Bluebird2318

I don't drink (wine or otherwise) often enough for it to matter anyway, but I would not be afraid to drink the occasional glass. I don't stop eating raw sushi either, although it's not readily available where I live so I don't eat it often. If we had a Japanese restaurant nearby, I'd probably be eating raw sushi once a week!

kjd291

I avoid it completely in tri one... last pregnancy I indulged in half a glass of wine maybe once or twice a month on really rough days, and will be fine to do the same this time if I have the urge. 

Schumerator

I will not drink at all during pregnancy. Whether people believe there is risk or not, one glass of wine is not special enough to me that I would just have to have it, so I will forgo it.

anonellis

I've been too sick to even think about it, and might back out once I feel better if I'm particularly anxious. But at this point, I've researched enough and decided a glass of wine here and there (drinking slowly, with food), is something I'm fine with.  I might wait til the holidays, though. 

MyNamesTaken

I didn't for my first pregnancy and won't this time either (except the few I had before we found out...oops). I don't think it's that big a deal in the end stages but not something I'll do myself.

Cbeanz

None for me.  But I plan to buy some Winter Warmer and save it for when the baby's out!

Foersty

The potential risk, to me, just is not worth it. I'm not much of a drinker anyways, so it's not going to be hard for me to not drink for another 7 months.  

jmacd22

None for me. I'm just overly cautious. But I don't frown on anyone who has some occasionally. 

jazzyma14

Logically, I don't think any harm will come from an occasional drink later on in pregnancy. However, my over cautious self will not have any. I won't even drink a little coffee which I also know is ok to do. 

vino831

catrb89 said:

I read "Expecting Better" and they detail some of the dos/donts of alcohol, caffeine, sushi, etc and the corresponding research. Here are some highlights about alcohol:

"Think about Europe. Much of the continent is much more permissive about light drinking during pregnancy. Heavy drinking is frowned upon everywhere, but some places in Europe have recommendations suggesting that a few drinks a week are fine. An occasional glass of wine or beer is much more common there. Yet there is no evidence of more fetal alcohol syndrome in Europe; if anything, rates are higher in the United States."

"When you drink slowly, you metabolize most or all of the alcohol before it would get to the fetus. If you drink quickly, your liver cannot keep up and toxins are passed to the fetus."

"It’s not that complicated: drink like a European adult, not like a fraternity brother."

There are more details about how alcohol is metabolized and how the author identifies good, solid studies, etc. She concludes 1-2 drinks/week are safe, as long as consumed slowly, like 1 drink over 1-2 hour period; then 2-3 drinks/week in the 2nd & 3rd trimester. It's a hotly debated topic, but my doctor is okay with minimal alcohol, and I feel comfortable with the research I've done. 
I'm going to stick with 1/week, if anything, through the duration of my pregnancy. Usually just a glass of wine on Friday nights, and  I'll probably go for my pumpkin beer this fall. 

Yes. Yes. We'll said. This was exactly my mentality with my DS. I probably drank closer to nothing first trimester but an occasional small glass of wine (or YES Pumpkin Beer!!) is okay. Plus I'm thr last of all of my frinds to have kids. Nearly all of them are drs or rns. If they were comfortable with the occasional drink (again wine more or less - not tossing back an occasional long island lol) then so was I!

Similar mentality with food. Everything within moderatio. Craving sushi? I had one raw roll and 1 cooked roll from my favorite place (been going for years) 

vino831

CanadianintheSouth said:

I didn't drink anything with my last and don't plan to this time either. I like drinking as much as the next person, but not nearly enough where I can't give it up for 9 months for my little one. I don't judge those who do drink wine sporadically though, each to their own.

DH just bought Fre, a non-alcoholic wine and we just had it for dinner. Also I had the Budweiser prohibition beer a few weeks ago and I felt like I was drinking an actual beer! I even had the hanging over after (aka morning sickness) to make it seem even more real 

I'll have to try this wine! While I'm in the occasional small glass of wine camp I did work on finding a good NA beer last pregnancy. My end result was odouls amber. Even my husband was impressed with it. It's thr only NA beer that don't have that sweet honey -esk base taste to it. Imo.

dirtymartini

I'll wait until second tri like I did with my first... But I'll have an occasional small glass of wine (like 4 oz) with dinner here or there,  once a week or less.

CanadianintheSouth

@Mccolpitts it pretty much tasted like juice, but we have only tried the white zin so far. There is a chardonnay which my DH said had bad reviews so he didn't get it. I'm a fan of very dry wines, so I was hesitant to even try the white zin, but it was just a nice summery drink. 

wintersong

I don't really miss it enough for it to be a big burden to give up. It makes my DH uncomfortable, so I abstain for his sake even though I think the occasional glass of wine doesn't hurt. I'll taste his drink occasionally. 

PattersRN

I personally don't believe there is any harm in the occasional drink, however I can't bring myself to do it.  I do occasionally have one sip of my husband's beer, but that's it.  Also, die to my nausea, I really don't have a craving for alcohol anymore.

meq124

A controversial topic finally!! I like it!

I am anti alcohol in the first trimester for sure and pretty much the second trimester. My view is that in the third trimester they are developed and just fattening up (for the most part) at that point. I would have the occasional small glass with DD, but unfortunately the heartburn she gave me didn't let me do that often. The few times I was able to it was really nice! I would literally drink 4oz or less over probably 2 hours and it was very relaxing! Hopefully I don't have the heartburn issue this time!

vino831

meq124 said:

A controversial topic finally!! I like it!

Exactly what I thought!!

anonellis

CanadianintheSouth said:

I didn't drink anything with my last and don't plan to this time either. I like drinking as much as the next person, but not nearly enough where I can't give it up for 9 months for my little one. I don't judge those who do drink wine sporadically though, each to their own.

Just to clarify...those who choose to occasionally drink wine are certainly capable of "giving it up for 9 months for their little ones," too.  They just disagree as to whether or not occasional wine makes a difference.  I see that you've said you don't judge those who drink sporadically, but your words imply that you think we are incapable of giving up drinking just because we like it, even at the expense of our babies.  Unless there are some serious alcoholics with really backwards priorities on this BMB, that's not really fair.  If you've decided it's just not worth the potential risk to you, that's fine and I of course completely respect that.  That might end up being me -- I haven't really decided.  But other people don't care less about their babies because they disagree about the risks.  

loveyoga7

I love wine and I am surrounded by it constantly (I live in wine country) but I will not be drinking this pregnancy. I did indulge in a half a glass or two during my second tri last pregnancy. It didn't taste the same to me so I didn't have anymore for the remainder of that pregnancy. My taste buds are off when I'm pregnant. I don't think it's worth the risk in my opinion. To each their own. 

shae86

@catrb89 I agree with everything you stated. 

I plan to indulge in a glass of wine on occasion in the third trimester. 

CanadianintheSouth

anonellis said:

CanadianintheSouth said:

I didn't drink anything with my last and don't plan to this time either. I like drinking as much as the next person, but not nearly enough where I can't give it up for 9 months for my little one. I don't judge those who do drink wine sporadically though, each to their own.

Just to clarify...those who choose to occasionally drink wine are certainly capable of "giving it up for 9 months for their little ones," too.  They just disagree as to whether or not occasional wine makes a difference.  I see that you've said you don't judge those who drink sporadically, but your words imply that you think we are incapable of giving up drinking just because we like it, even at the expense of our babies.  Unless there are some serious alcoholics with really backwards priorities on this BMB, that's not really fair.  If you've decided it's just not worth the potential risk to you, that's fine and I of course completely respect that.  That might end up being me -- I haven't really decided.  But other people don't care less about their babies because they disagree about the risks.  

Haha I didn't mean to be the one to say anything controversial as @meq124 pointed out that this is a controversial topic. I should have said "I personally feel like I can give it up for 9 months" but let me clear up my own reasoning why:

I in no way think that a glass of wine every so often will hurt the baby, or that someone who does drink is incapable of being sober. Quite honestly it's not really even about the risk to me, it's just the only time in my life where I feel like I can/want to obstain from alcohol because I have an excuse not to drink. Think of it as my personal New Years resolution, but only lasting 9 months

So my apologies if I offended you in some way @anonellis guess I wasn't clear on my reasoning. It's just a totally personal goal for me. 

Edited to add - I do think you took my one sentence way out of context in implying that I think others care less about their own babies if they decide to drink. That couldn't be further from the truth. 

anonellis

@CanadianintheSouth  no worries -- that makes complete sense to me. I knew you didn't actually mean it that way that I read it, but I read it as saying that if I choose to drink it meant that I thought wine is more important than my babies.  And I'm sure we're all feeling a little Mama-bear protective of our babies now....(And I just got flak from my mother-in-law for getting on an airplane while pregnant, so I'm sensitive.) 

tbh wine tends to give me migraines, and I'm not supposed to be taking my migraine meds during this pregnancy, so this whole topic is probably going to be moot for me anyway    

direwolfmini

I'm not planning on having any wine/beer during this pregnancy. Mostly, both give me heartburn/indigestion/headache and I have enough of that right now. 

Also, I haven't read the study/studies mentioned, or discussed with my doctor. 

No judgement if you partake responsibly after doing your research, though you may feel more comfortable partaking with close friends/family only. An anecdote from a friend that just went to wine country when 8 months pregnant: She was drinking an alcohol free wine in a wine glass and people looked at her like she was the actual devil. (Of course, not really sure why she chose to go to a winery/wine tasting while 8 months pregnant...)

dubcompanion

On a personal note, I don't trust how my body metabolizes alcohol. I get flushed when I drink, and I've always been teased as a "lightweight." One drink gets me tipsy, and I'm good for the night at three. I agree with many of the studies that show moderation is the key in alcohol consumption when pregnant, and that by following those guidelines, the risks are greatly lowered. That said, I am going to err on the side of caution. If my body already metabolizes alcohol quite, er, enthusiastically(?), then I'm going to assume that the risks are not worth it when it comes to my baby.

I'm also one to not judge other women for drinking alcohol when pregnant. And when I say not judging, that also means I'm not going to analyze how much they care about their baby in comparison to me. (If I did, that would be judging. ) I literally take it as to each their own. In my case, it's more general health concerns. I just don't trust what alcohol does to my body in the first place, let alone with a nugget inside.

CanadianintheSouth

@anonellis I know how that goes where it seems like everyone has an opinion of what you should or shouldn't do while pregnant. Everyone should just mind their own business, it really starts to get to me towards the end when the belly is really showing. People off the street think you want to hear their opinion about child rearing. 

My cousin gets migraines from wine too, not fun!

sunshine507

I'm not drinking wine or any other alcohol while I'm pregnant. 

onefootinthebayou

I honestly think a lot of this is much ado about nothing. There's no question that excessive alcohol harms a fetus yet there is no evidence as to a what a "healthy" threshold would be that one shouldn't exceed. I believe that as a whole, the medical community doesn't trust the general public to self regulate, and maybe they're justified in that, so the recommendation is "none at all". Not to mention that if a healthy level were recommended, and an adverse event occurred, the door is open for liability. 

I've given up alcohol but if I feel like having a sip of H's wine here & there, I will. Knowing what I know about alcohol metabolism from years of chemistry, I'm certain no harm will be done.  I think the debate about minuscule amounts of alcohol over such a long period of time and all the handwringing about it is kind of silly tbh. I don't know what the right answer is, but I'm with the Europeans on this one. Pretty confident a few sips here & there aren't going to have an impact and I don't really care what other people do either. 

pandalily

@dubcompanion that's me exactly. Even before I got KU I rarely drank anymore anyway. I drank a decent amount in undergrad but then since I graduated and even in my last several years of professional school (after I turned 21 ironically) I really didn't drink much since DH and I didn't go out much since we started dating. By my last year of school I could only handle a couple drinks before feeling tipsy and even that could make me pretty sick (beer or liquor). Didn't dare touch wine anymore since it made me violently hugging the porcelain bowl everytime I had it. 

So yeah it's an easy choice for me to not drink. I do see where it makes sense to drink like a European if you choose to drink because everything in moderation. But even if I could stomach alcohol I probably would not. 

Sushi on the other hand...may have to indulge in some more down the line!

darkeyednurse

I may get shunned for this but I think drinking alcohol while pregnant is extremely selfish. It's not about you, it's about the health of your baby 

dubcompanion

@pandalily I'll be honest, I average 4-5 drinks a week when I'm not pregnant. That's how I know I'm inherently a lightweight, because I've never built up a tolerance - at least in my friends' eyes. I'm definitely not complaining; my mom jokes that I'm a "cheap date" because it only takes a couple for me. (Thanks, Mom, that's not weird coming from you at all.)

To bring this back to Science, I will state I am southeast Asian. I don't know if there's just something genetic about me that makes me not metabolize the alcohol well (or maybe metabolize it too well? Maybe @onefootinthebayou might have some info regarding this)? I would love to be able to down a drink as well as the stereotypical German/Irishman, but I'm cool with being a cheap date I guess. .... My German DH doesn't complain anyway.

onefootinthebayou

dubcompanion said:

@pandalily I'll be honest, I average 4-5 drinks a week when I'm not pregnant. That's how I know I'm inherently a lightweight, because I've never built up a tolerance - at least in my friends' eyes. I'm definitely not complaining; my mom jokes that I'm a "cheap date" because it only takes a couple for me. (Thanks, Mom, that's not weird coming from you at all.)

To bring this back to Science, I will state I am southeast Asian. I don't know if there's just something genetic about me that makes me not metabolize the alcohol well (or maybe metabolize it too well? Maybe @onefootinthebayou might have some info regarding this)? I would love to be able to down a drink as well as the stereotypical German/Irishman, but I'm cool with being a cheap date I guess. .... My German DH doesn't complain anyway.

I'll add the disclaimer that I don't have a comprehensive understanding of how your particular genetic make up impacts your ability to metabolize alcohol, but many people who cannot tolerate it lack or underproduce the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase, which cleaves the hydrogen off of the ehanol molecule so it can form the intermediates of the reaction which are water and *don't quote me on this* I think acetic acid. I'm not fact checking right now b/c I'm laying in bed and am about to go to sleep but you could have an enzymatic deficiency that impairs your ability to properly or fully metabolize alcohol. Totally saying that from memory though and not fact-checked medical knowledge!

dubcompanion

@onefootinthebayou  Hey, if it helps, as I read your post, my eyes kind of glossed over, and I simply nodded and thought, "Yep, she Scienced that well."  Thanks! I'll have to look into the literature some time.

pinnerk

I'm with some others here, I don't normally drink so ignoring it for 9 months isnt going to be a hard thing to do