Reply to Is there any objective source of information on light drinking during pregnancy?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]"a risk evaluation approach"

let's get out our calculators..  here we type in how sweet my buzz is going to be.. here we type in the risk that I ruin my child's life.....

great, 91%! bottoms up![/quote]

I hope this is also the kind of calculation you do if you are considering eating a piece of melon (Listeria recalls last year) or getting in a car for a discretionary trip (e.g. visiting a friend, not going to work). You or your baby could DIE, so don't do it!

That is not risk evaluation, though. [/quote]

To be fair the odds of any given melon being contaminated are pretty low.  And I am not sure you can realistically reduce your risk of catching listeriosis to 0.

The chance of an alcoholic drinks containing alcohol is 100%.  And we 
know you can reduce the risk of FASD to 0 by not drinking alcohol.  Yes, there's no evidence that drinking a glass of wine with a meal can cause FASD, but it is fair to say that not drinking alcohol is one of the easier ways to prevent harm to a fetus.[/quote]

You totally can reduce your risk of contracting listeriosis to 0. Just microwave everything single thing you eat to an internal temperature of 165 degrees. If you truly love your child and have self control, you’ll do that for 9 months.  If you’re having trouble giving up eating cold or room temperature food, there’s help and resources for women like you. Talk to your doctor about it. [/quote]

As you know, that is not very practical. Just like not riding in a car for 9 months. That is why I said "realistically".  It is, however, pretty easy not to drink alcohol for 9 months.  I actually don't think it's terrible for most pregnant women to have a glass of wine with food now and then.  But many people, myself included, like alcohol because of the buzz and are not in the habit of drinking slow enough.  And for me, I feel hungover from one drink even if I did not feel a buzz, so I did not drink at all during pregnancy because if I feel that bad, it must be terrible for the baby.

I don't think comparing drinking alcohol to avoiding car accidents and food with listeria makes much sense.[/quote]

To me, comparing the two makes perfect sense. They are things women often do when not pregnant, present possible risks when pregnant, and so you need to conduct a risk evaluation about what to continue when pregnant. Every woman is unique and has autonomy to make her own responsible choice.  Lots of women decide not to eat out of salad bars and some decide not to eat any raw vegetables or fruits.  That isn’t unrealistic. When you go abroad to certain countries, that is the recommended medical advice even when not pregnant so as to avoid certain parasites and illnesses.

That’s great for you that you drink wine to feel a buzz, can feel effects after a glass, and so made that decision for yourself not to drink during pregnancy. I think wine tastes like someone mixed vinegar with grape juice and beer is even worse, so of course I didn’t drink. Another woman might drink a little wine every now and then, like the taste and not get a buzz, and decide to have a glass every now and then in pregnancy. Another woman might run a winery and decide taking a sip of each production batch to check quality is worth the risk v benefit for her. I respect all of their choices and don’t throw vitriol at them anonymously on the internet.

There’s lots of choices pregnant women should get to make for themselves, like whether to take medicines for chronic conditions that aren’t proven completely safe, whether to keep doing certain types of exercises, whether to keep working at a job with certain risks, etc.  When you police decisions with no proven risk (like having a glass of wine every now and then because you get a buzz and don’t trust yourself to drink slowly enough or just drink less), you aren’t supporting women’s rights and autonomy. You’re viewing women as incubators whose choices should be shamed or regulated.

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