So how much alcohol have you been drinking? With my first pregnancy I think I had a much harder time saying “no,” and very often would help myself to a glass of wine. I wouldn’t ever drink more than a glass and never drank any hard spirits but most of my friends totally abstained from alcohol so of course then I felt really guilty or would start to wonder whether I had done some serious damage to my unborn child which thankfully I didn’t.

For the second pregnancy I drank a lot less. I would “get drunk” after drinking a couple of sips and generally didn’t enjoy it as much. Although there were a couple of fine bottles that were cracked open and then maybe I drank half a glass and always with a meal and lots of water.

Giving up alcohol during pregnancy is yet another wake up call that your lifestyle is about to change radically i.e. forget about going out for a wild night for some time ladies and if you are breastfeeding, maybe even longer. It also is yet another reminder of how fragile we all are and that drinking during pregnancy is ultimately a pretty irresponsible thing to do. But that’s the point… if you are a bit like me, you might find it rather difficult to let go of that irresponsible side but don’t you worry…. as soon as you start to have kids, it will eventually dawn on you that you have a major responsibility on your hands.

 The general concerns around boozing and pregnancy start as soon as you find out you have conceived…. “oh my goodness, I’ve been partying for the last month. And now I have found out I am pregnant. Is my baby OK?” First of all relax…. even if you have been drinking fairly heaviliy the chances of your child suffering from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome are extremely slim.

For the record… Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and a spectrum of associated disorders, sometimes called Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), is a permanent birth defect caused by maternal consumption of alcohol during pregnancy. The term fetal alcohol effects (FAE) or alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND) is applied to children whose mothers are known to have drunk heavily during pregnancy and who exhibit some, but not all, features of alcohol-related facial malformation. FASD is the leading cause of mental retardation in the Western world and is entirely preventable. It has been estimated that one in 1000 children born suffers from FAS, and one in 100 suffers milder effects (FAE) of maternal prenatal alcohol exposure. 

So what is mild and heavy consumption… again the jury is out and course if you live in Europe there seems to be a little bit more leniance than there is on the other side of the pond where alcohol and pregnancy is a big “no no.” In general moderation seems to be key here and it is definitely not advised to drink regularly ie. every day. Always try and have wine with food and water and if you are breastfeeding, it is advisable to wait a couple of hours to let the wine be digested within your blood stream before you put baby to the boob.

The highest risk from alcohol to your developing baby is during the earliest stages of pregnancy, when baby’s critical organs are forming and cells are dividing very rapidly. The more you drink during pregnancy, the greater health risks you and your baby are facing. Since there is no known safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy, the American College of of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends eliminating all alcohol consumption during pregnancy to optimize your chances for a healthy baby.
 

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June 13th, 2007 | Permalink