CDC "new" advice on alcohol and TTC

jennh75b · February 2016

I just saw a blurb on Facebook with a link to the CDC about how the CDC is now recommending no alcohol consumption if you are pregnant or trying to get pregnant. It's to try and reduce the occurrence of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. I have to say that I don't drink that much (maybe a glass of wine 1-2x/month), but being an "older" woman TTC, I think I will be more conscious of this going forward. I usually have just made sure if I have a drink in the TWW that it's just one drink. And frankly these days I can tolerate alcohol less and less so that's also a built-in deterrent.

I know this is a debated subject and considered more of a personal preference, but anyone else's thoughts on the subject?

Here's the link: https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/fasd/

Also, as far as other beverages - are you all doing absolutely no caffeine? Or just reduced/limiting your intake? I have struggled with going completely off - that cup of coffee in the morning is my downfall. I also love ice tea with dinner. I go through phases where I cut it all out, then reduce, then creep back up a little. I haven't asked my OBGYN about it, and was wondering what the RE will tell me about this when I go in March. I'm thinking I should take the same approach as the alcohol and cut it all out...my mentality right now is that I will quit caffeine once I get a BFP.

Kaessi · February 2016

I drink a cup of coffee each morning - just can't give it up! But try to make that my only caffeine for the day.
As far as alcohol...there's so many contradicting opinions it's difficult to know what's really accurate. I tried to abstain from alcohol for awhile but now I drink a glass of wine a few nights each week and occasionally will have a few beers/mixed drinks if we go out with friends on the weekend, but do try to be more conscious about to during TWW. I gave up feeling guilty about it!

jennh75b · February 2016

@Kaessi - yes indeed, so much conflicting info and I do think that this new CDC guideline is more so to try and target people who are not conscious at all about alcohol and effects on the fetus. It's sort of a "let's suggest the most extreme for everyone so that we may possibly reach those who are completely ignorant about the topic" approach.

Since I'm 40 years old, I have this secret, self-imposed pressure on myself to be the absolute healthiest I can be, but since I've never been that way, it's kind of hard to go to such an extreme now. I'm not the most healthiest or unhealthiest person in the world, but I feel like maybe these small things could affect me more than I know due to my age, so I have this fear. Yet, I guess it's not a strong enough fear to really take action. At some point I have to say that the pressure could do more harm than good, and as along as I stay on the path I'm on health-wise, I need to just let it go. I can't control everything, and I am human.

rspalding001 · February 2016

I will drink coffee and wine in moderation until I ovulate, then I stop with the wine and only drink 1 cup of coffee in the morning. If I get a BFP I will cut out the coffee completely.

For what its worth when I got pregnant with #1 I stopped drinking coffee and alcohol entirely 2 months prior to getting our BFP. The only reason I don't do it again is from what I have read it seems to me that a fetus/embryo does not start getting nutrients from the mothers blood stream until about 4 weeks, which is when you would get a BFP anyway. My research could be wrong, its just my understanding at this time and how I made my decision.

Kaessi · February 2016

@jennh75b I think we think a lot alike! I have similar fears & anxiety over things I'm doing/not doing and how they are effecting the process. Most of which are probably unfounded, but there's still that little twinge of uncertainty that I'm having to constantly deal with!

roscoe1009 · February 2016

Just my opinion but this bugs me and seems very alarmist. It's completely not founded on any science whatsoever. As if pregnant women don't have enough these days from society to give them anxiety, now this? Can even one case of FASD be proven from a woman having a couple of glasses of wine during her TWW and maybe a few beers during the third trimester? All the cases that have a *proven* link are hardcore drinkers. The CDC seems to be saying, well we don't have any evidence that its good, so therefore it's bad and forbidden. Then lets just stay in the house, stop living our lives, and never go out...just in case. But oh wait, what if there's an earthquake and the roof caves in? The CDC also went so far as to say any woman not on BC and in child-bearing years should abstain from all alcohol whether she wants kids or not...just in case. I'm not one to cry sexism very easily but this basically treats all women between 12-50 as potential vessels for a baby. Alcohol also affects sperm quality and men are fertile every single day but the CDC isn't trying to shame them. I recommend the book "Expecting Better" which provides some fact/science based sanity to all this fear-mongering that organizations like the CDC put women through.

jennh75b · February 2016

I definitely agree that they took quite an extreme stance, assuming almost that women of childbearing years are too irresponsible to drink responsibly or take into consideration health risks when they are TTC. I think that I could read through it all and decide for myself that they were targeting women who typically are ignorant to their own health and risks and realized that I am not in that category, therefore, I will use my own brain and judgment and proceed how I choose. I did think it was ridiculous saying that any woman who was capable of reproduction and not on birth control should never drink. That is beyond being cautious and really beyond just educating people on the risks.

chloe97 · February 2016

I completely agree with @sophiakam and @jennh75b. I work in public health and work with folks who are experts on FASD. There is absolutely no evidence that having a few drinks at your super bowl party tonight during your TWW is going to cause FASD. That CDC guidance is not directed towards the women like those of us on The Bump who religiously track our cycles and test on the very first day we can get a positive test. That guidance basically assumes that women don't understand their fertility and wouldn't necessarily know when they are 4 weeks pregnant. Unfortunately, it's a lot easier to make a public health announcement that says don't drink if you're trying to conceive, than it is to make a public health message about fertility tracking and alcohol. This is great for the CDC and public health professionals, but I don't think it's great for women, particularly those having difficulties getting pregnant. Sure, if you want to stop drinking than stop drinking, but I know I'm my social circle and many others that also involves giving up most of my social life. When I was pregnant, I happily abstained from alcohol for my baby. But the day after I bled heavily from my period and H hasn't touched me in a week, I'm going to have a couple beers and I'm not going to feel guilty about because it's not going to harm any potential baby that I conceive this month.

happyktmom · February 2016

My RE recommends limiting alcohol and caffeine, but not cutting out completely until the BFP. He said 1-2 cups of coffee a day is fine and 2-3 glasses of wine a week is ok. I usually don't even do that, but it makes me feel better to know it's ok. In April, because I'm going all in with my first and only IUI, I will abstain from both just to feel better.

PoeMasque · February 2016

Has anyone else read Expecting Better by Emily Oster? I have only read the TTC parts (will read the rest once I get a BFP), but she looks at the actual science behind a lot of the "no-nos" of being pregnant (especially coffee and alcohol). She points out that no study has shown that coffee actually causes any harm, just a small correlation between increased coffee intake and miscarriage; meaning if you don't suddenly start drinking more than your normal amount you should be fine.

Made me feel a lot better about living like a normal human while TTC.

PattersRN · February 2016

@PoeMasqueMy sister recommended that book to me...haven't read it yet though.

My two cents on the whole topic: I agree with the previous posters that say the CDC is being more cautious and not targeting those of us who are actually trying. I work as a nurse and when you work in healthcare with the general public, you learn that there is a very WIDE array of educational levels (I'll choose to say that instead of "people are completely clueless"). Drinking during the TWW isn't going to cause FAS, but if you're bumping uglies, not on birth control, drinking a lot and you don't pay much attention, you could risk drinking your way into a pretty good portion of your pregnancy without knowing it.

jennh75b · February 2016

@PattersRN - just giving a shout out to you for using "bumping uglies" in a post.

thistle8677 · February 2016

@jennh75b HAHAHHAA! Totally! I literally choked on my own spit when I read that! Haha.
@PattersRN

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