Drinking while pregnant rant (long)
enkb
member
A recent blurb came up on my facebook page about the fact that about 10% of American women admit to consuming alcohol while they are pregnant. This is only the thousandth time I’ve heard about how awful it is for women to drink while pregnant, and I can’t bite my tongue any more.
I want American’s to realize that this is a cultural rule, not a scientific one. The US has decided, not based on any evidence, that pregnant women are not allowed to drink ever, or they are killing their babies and should feel horrible about themselves. In many other countries (most of Europe and Australia to name a few), national guidelines are based on actual scientific data and recommend pregnant women not exceed 1 drink a day, 7 drinks a week.
There is compelling, well conducted, long term research that shows moderate alcohol consumption in pregnant women is not just safe, is actually of benefit to babies. Babies born to mothers who drank moderately through pregnancy actually show higher IQ’s and lower rates of aggression throughout childhood. Population-wide studies in European countries, where drinking during pregnancy is commonplace, show absolutely no increase risk of harm with moderate alcohol consumption versus the US with its absolute ban.
I would never claim that binge drinking is a healthy choice during pregnancy, or that a woman should be forced to consume alcohol if it is not something that she is comfortable with, or that fetal alcohol syndrome is not a real condition and is not devastating when it happens. There is a known level of alcohol consumption that is dangerous, but this doesn’t mean an across the board ban is the best course of action. As I see it there are 3 main problems with the US’s obsession with women not drinking at all during pregnancy.
1. It makes women who do have a glass of wine feel so bad about it they think they might as well go ahead and finish the bottle. When you stress how horrible having a sip of wine is, the person doing the sipping already thinks they have committed a heinous crime, and has no incentive to stop drinking at that point, they think the damage is already done.
2. We are denying our children the potential benefits of moderate drinking. If you told me taking a prenatal vitamin had the potential to raise my child’s IQ and make them better behaved, you’d better believe I would be taking it (oh wait, I already am taking prenatal vitamins because you told me that).
3. It contributes to the societal view that pregnant women (or women in general) are too stupid to know what’s good for them. The whole reason this ‘ban’ exists is because the powers that be in the US think that pregnant women either don’t know what 1 drink a day is, or won’t be able to help ourselves from drinking more than that once we open the floodgates. We might just get confused in our lady brains and accidentally chug a handle of vodka instead of having a glass of wine with dinner a few times a week.
So quit telling me how horrified you are that 10% of women in the US are doing something good for their babies. Now I’m off to take a bubble bath with a glass of red wine, and I expect praise for all the hard work I’m doing to raise my child’s IQ.
Re: Drinking while pregnant rant (long)
I think the American medical system often seems to treat women as too stupid to make their own decisions largely because doctors don't get sued for running an extra test or recommending an overly cautious diet. Plus, saying, "Here's the research. Make your own decision and let me know if you have any questions." Isn't nearly as easy as handing over a list of don'ts. I've been very pleased with my doctors, nurses, and midwives in this pregnancy and my last, all of whom have been supportive, non judgy, and respectful of my decisions and questions. Not only do I feel comfortable being honest when I don't follow the American standard rules, but when they feel strongly that I should or shouldn't do something after I've disagreed, I always listen. Once I know a doctor respects my decision making abilities, I sure as hell am going to listen when they feel strongly about overriding me.
You will never see any Australian government guidelines that say drinking is safe at any level during pregnancy, I'd say by the sounds of it you read something incorrectly, I understand this is not your point. But I don't want our regulations misrepresented.
I guess what I'm trying to say is OP was just saying yay to alcohol in pregnancy if you choose to have some and yay for you if you choose not to. Let's stop the stigma and let women choose - stop the judging now people. It's not nice and it's not necessary. We are all parents (yes already you are) and let's stick together rather than the divide and bitch approach.
How is it you Americans say
"Have a nice day"
Xxx
Honestly kinda mad you singled out Americans who don't drink. I'm American and I refuse to drink during pregnancy. Doesn't make me any less of a mom. Plus iv seen the effects that alcohol can have on a baby (from a friend perspective). No thanks.
The chances of getting listeria are 1 in 8,000; the chances of getting in a car accident in the next two years are 1 in 50. Car accidents are a leading cause of fetal harm, as is domestic violence. But nobody told me to fly rather than drive from California to Massachusetts when I moved during this pregnancy or asked I felt safe around my husband, even though that would have been much sounder than policing my micro-decisions about how my steak should be cooked and what kind of cheese I should eat.
"Experts are still unsure exactly how much, if any, alcohol is completely safe for you to have while you're pregnant, so the safest approach is not to drink at all while you're expecting."
It's 9 months in our relatively long lives, stop being selfish and avoid inflicting any potential harm to unborn.
Not quite correct:
NICE’s actual wording is as follows:
Also the RCOG https://www.rcog.org.uk/globalassets/documents/patients/patient-information-leaflets/pregnancy/pi-alcohol-and-pregnancy.pdf
Not quite correct:
NICE’s actual wording is as follows:
Also the RCOG https://www.rcog.org.uk/globalassets/documents/patients/patient-information-leaflets/pregnancy/pi-alcohol-and-pregnancy.pdf
I wasn't quoting NICE I was quoting NHSEdit:words are hard.
Also I really don't understand your reasoning that if an "American" woman (why just American women, I'm not sure. This is a broad generalization!) chooses to have a small glass she will feel so guilty that it will cause her to down the entire bottle. As pp said, I'd think any guilt or peer pressure not to drink would cause her to not finish the drink more often than to finish the bottle.
I think OP should get off her high horse, do what she feels comfortable with and stop judging others who choose to behave differently. Really, the preachy long post is completely unnecessary. Particularly since we just discussed thus at length last week during a respectful discussion where people weren't preachy or judgemental but rather stated their reasons behind making their own decisions that impact their health and that of the unborn child(ren) they are carrying.
To the women choosing to indulge in a little alcohol, I do not judge you or think you are in the wrong at all. I am a little jealous your babies will apparently be smarter and less aggressive. Enjoy!
Well, gifs are failing me today, so I'll just say, educate yourself past the biased, one way or another, websites.
That said, I think my fetus likes a mom that is relaxed after a glass of wine every few nights.
I don't judge anybody who chooses to have the occasional drink or not modify their diet. That's their call. I don't preach to them about their choices so I expect them to not shame me for mine.
Also saying drinking increases IQ is absolute garbage.
Again, I don't judge, if you want to drink do so. If you want to have caffeine, go for it! If you want to eat sushi, good for you.
It's your life and your choice.
The way I read it, OP is venting annoyance that women are being shamed for choosing to drink while pregnant on her facebook. I guess it's a matter of interpretation but I definitely don't think the message is that everyone should drink while pregnant, merely that we should make our own choice based on our own research and preferences.
Another poster alluded to this, but it's been found that college educated women are more likely to drink during pregnancy. And since they tend to have higher IQs, there is a higher likelihood their children will. That doesn't mean though that alcohol increases a child's IQ.
I don't judge anyone either way, drink or don't. As long as you can sleep soundly with your choice at the end of the day, that's all that matters.
What I do understand is- working in health care- do you guys realize how many uneducated, ignorant women (and men!) are out there? I've been in a women's clinic with a young woman who really did not know how she got pregnant, had STDs and multiple partners. Honestly she did not know! That's hard to believe, but it was the reality.
At work I have to write letters to adults using 6th grade language. (So hard!)
Guidelines and rules are made for everyone, and when part of your population cannot understand and follow correctly, the safest guideline to give is- don't do it at all.
Two years, two losses and three IUIs...
We are having TRIPLETS!
EDD 1/26/16
GGB born November 2015!
Married: 7.23.11
DD:10.17.12
EDD #2!:1.17.16
I would LOVE to have a glass of merlot, but my husband gets anxious about any alcohol consumption. I prefer to abstain than worry him. My mother was told to have a glass of wine every night to help her sleep! I eat blue cheese and cold lunchmeat, though!
It's like when you read something warning you not to do something or some crazy regulation and you think "why would this even be a warning/law/regulation?" (Like don't use a curling iron in the tub) It's probably because some dumbass tried it at one point.
Guidelines are written to the lowest common denominator.
So, as it stands, we don't know exact amounts of what is and isn't safe. We have what we think are estimates because some women consented to surveys about alcohol consumption during pregnancy after the fact. But the legitimacy of those estimates will always be questionable, because it's trusting women to be accurate thinking back 9 months, and trusting them not to lie.
It has nothing to do with "we can't trust all women to drink responsibly so we tell them not to" it has to do with "we don't have solid scientific evidence that will allow us to say one drink is safe, so we have to say no drinks are safe".
TL;DR: There is no scientifically accurate measure of what is and isn't safe. If you do drink, you do it against the advice of the medical community. It may be safe but there's no legitimate scientific evidence yet, and there probably never will be. Drink at your own risk.