Did anyone else drink a small amount while pregnant?

[Anonymous]

I am 23 weeks pregnant and I have been having small amounts of alcohol in the second trimester. I will drink half a glass of wine or beer (not every day, maybe once or twice a week). I have seen no evidence anywhere that this could be problematic for the fetus and I will continue in the third trimester. I’m an adult, not a vessel. I can make an informed decision about drinking less than one unit of alcohol a week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No but don't drink caffeine.

Small amounts of caffeine are fine. My doctor encouraged me to drink caffeinated soda to treat occasional headaches because my migraine medication was not safe for pregnancy. I wouldn’t drink a fully caffeinated coffee every day, but a lower dose of caffeine now and then is totally ok.

Recently associated with adhd.

Only one study has shown a correlation and it involved extreme levels of caffeine intake (multiple highly caffeinated drinks a day), and even that one was correlative, not causation.

There is zero evidence that small amounts of caffeine during pregnancy will have any affect on children whatsoever. Many women find that caffeinated beverages helps them modulate stress and tiredness during pregnancy, or as in several PP's examples, control issues like migraines. Why would we tell pregnant women not to take a substance that could lower their stress, help them maintain energy, and possibly even avoid taking other, potentially harmful, medications? Especially when there is no evidence that the substance negatively affects children except potentially at very high intake levels? Why is that a trade-off people think makes any sense at all?

I am so tired of people treating pregnant women like children who can't make their own choices. I drank alcohol and caffeine in small amounts throughout my pregnancy, with the blessing of my doctor, and feel zero guilt about either. And have a healthy, happy child.

Yes to this. It’s the same with not including pregnant individuals in drug trials. It is actively harmful to pregnant women to not be included in medical research, and to not have any data to refer to when making risk assessments. It puts a tremendous burden on women with chronic conditions that require medication, like depression, to not have any real data to inform their decisions.

[Anonymous]

Nope. Didn’t seem worth it to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am 23 weeks pregnant and I have been having small amounts of alcohol in the second trimester. I will drink half a glass of wine or beer (not every day, maybe once or twice a week). I have seen no evidence anywhere that this could be problematic for the fetus and I will continue in the third trimester. I’m an adult, not a vessel. I can make an informed decision about drinking less than one unit of alcohol a week.

Yes you are a vessel because you are carrying the baby! Is alcohol that important? How would you ntice any evidence?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.npr.org/2018/08/24/641618937/no-amount-of-alcohol-is-good-for-your-health-global-study-claims

From NPR, a trusted source.

Ethanol is a toxin. Period.

https://www.cdc.gov/prams/pdf/snapshot-report/MotorVehicleInjuries.pdf

From the CDC, a trusted source.

Leading cause of death in fetuses is car accidents. Period. So women should not be in cars while pregnant right? I mean, why risk it?

What’s that you say? It’s not black and white? Tell me more....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am 23 weeks pregnant and I have been having small amounts of alcohol in the second trimester. I will drink half a glass of wine or beer (not every day, maybe once or twice a week). I have seen no evidence anywhere that this could be problematic for the fetus and I will continue in the third trimester. I’m an adult, not a vessel. I can make an informed decision about drinking less than one unit of alcohol a week.

Yes you are a vessel because you are carrying the baby! Is alcohol that important? How would you ntice any evidence?

You don’t get in cars right? For anything other than prenatal visits? You put your baby in danger of death just so you can see friends?!? What’s wrong with you, you are a vessel!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am 23 weeks pregnant and I have been having small amounts of alcohol in the second trimester. I will drink half a glass of wine or beer (not every day, maybe once or twice a week). I have seen no evidence anywhere that this could be problematic for the fetus and I will continue in the third trimester. I’m an adult, not a vessel. I can make an informed decision about drinking less than one unit of alcohol a week.

Yes you are a vessel because you are carrying the baby! Is alcohol that important? How would you ntice any evidence?

No, I am a person and I make the best decisions for myself. I also expect my doctors to do the same and prioritize MY care. I am not a vessel. This isn’t the handmaids tale. The attitude that a pregnant woman is secondary to a fetus is barbaric and dangerous. You’re free to act however you want when you’re pregnant, and so am I. I exercise daily, I eat nutritious foods, I avoid listeria risks. I also have half a glass of wine on Saturday nights! The horror! If you want to act like a sip of wine will harm your child, go for it. There is evidence that drinking heavily (4-5 drinks at a time) is dangerous for a fetus, and no evidence that small or even moderate amounts of alcohol is dangerous at all. Do with that what you want.

[Anonymous]

*are dangerous

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.npr.org/2018/08/24/641618937/no-amount-of-alcohol-is-good-for-your-health-global-study-claims

From NPR, a trusted source.

Ethanol is a toxin. Period.

https://www.cdc.gov/prams/pdf/snapshot-report/MotorVehicleInjuries.pdf

From the CDC, a trusted source.

Leading cause of death in fetuses is car accidents. Period. So women should not be in cars while pregnant right? I mean, why risk it?

What’s that you say? It’s not black and white? Tell me more....

?

Most pregnant women “need” to drive to work, medical appointments, etc.

Nobody “needs” alcohol...except people with drinking problems. Regardless, it’s a toxin. Period.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.npr.org/2018/08/24/641618937/no-amount-of-alcohol-is-good-for-your-health-global-study-claims

From NPR, a trusted source.

Ethanol is a toxin. Period.

https://www.cdc.gov/prams/pdf/snapshot-report/MotorVehicleInjuries.pdf

From the CDC, a trusted source.

Leading cause of death in fetuses is car accidents. Period. So women should not be in cars while pregnant right? I mean, why risk it?

What’s that you say? It’s not black and white? Tell me more....

?

Most pregnant women “need” to drive to work, medical appointments, etc.

Nobody “needs” alcohol...except people with drinking problems. Regardless, it’s a toxin. Period.

You also don’t “need” to consume sugar or fried foods and know they’re harmful, so we should shame pregnant women who eat a cookie or have french fries once in a while. What horrible selfish people!

[Anonymous]

"I Wrote That It’s OK to Drink While Pregnant. Everyone Freaked Out. Here’s Why I’m Right."

https://slate.com/human-interest/2013/09/drinking-during-pregnancy-what-the-experts-don-t-tell-you.html

This discusses the evidence on women your drink up to one drink per day. The original question was from someone who drank one third of a drink on limited occasions. I don't think a fair evaluation of the evidence suggests any risk from that.

I do think that doctors fairly worry that if they say that "a little alcohol is safe" some people will see that as an excuse to drink regularly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.npr.org/2018/08/24/641618937/no-amount-of-alcohol-is-good-for-your-health-global-study-claims

From NPR, a trusted source.

Ethanol is a toxin. Period.

https://www.cdc.gov/prams/pdf/snapshot-report/MotorVehicleInjuries.pdf

From the CDC, a trusted source.

Leading cause of death in fetuses is car accidents. Period. So women should not be in cars while pregnant right? I mean, why risk it?

What’s that you say? It’s not black and white? Tell me more....

?

Most pregnant women “need” to drive to work, medical appointments, etc.

Nobody “needs” alcohol...except people with drinking problems. Regardless, it’s a toxin. Period.

Nobody “needs” to drive to go shopping. Nobody needs to drive to go to a wedding, see a family member, have a massage or a manicure, take their kids to the zoo...and yet no one criticizes them for exposing their fetus to the leading cause of traumatic fetal death, purely for their own enjoyment.

[Anonymous]

Glass of wine daily all 4 kids. They are all super smart.

[Anonymous]

My wonderful doctor encouraged me to relax with a glass of wine in the evenings during the third trimester. Americans are very silly on this subject, generally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I drank a similar amount during each pregnancy. No guilt, no regrets.

+1