Third trimester alcohol use

knottie4690133a0a517d50

I am 27 weeks pregnant and was going through a difficult time and unfortunately self medicated through alcohol and had about 3 drinks in one night on one occasion. I am disgusted with myself and feel like a failure. I am worried I caused some serious damage to my baby. Anyone else drank during their pregnancies? What were the outcomes? Please dont shame it.

00kim00

Unfortunately research shows that there's no safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Some babies whose mothers drank a lot have no clearly identifiable effects, others have severe disabilities even with minimal exposure. Genetics and other factors likely influence outcomes, so there's no way to compare your experience to another mother's.

I would suggest 3 things. First, be honest with your doctors (and baby's doctor) about the exposure and how much and often you drank during your pregnancy. That information can be very helpful in monitoring your child for effects and getting help right away if there is any issue. Second, commit to avoiding alcohol for the rest of your pregnancy. To do this, ask for help! Talk to your doctor about options- I don't know your story and situation, but therapy, antidepressants, or substance recovery programs may be options that can be successful for you. At a minimum, you need a strategy you can turn to next time you're going through a hard time. Identify strategies now so you don't get stuck turning to alcohol because you can't think of anything else. Third, learn about Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. If you learn of what to watch for in your baby and identify signs early if there are any effects, there absolutely are things that can be done to help your baby.

What's done is done, so now just think about next steps. Do you have a support network already? If not, now's a great time to start building one- there will be more hard times ahead after baby is born.