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][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]

I was careful to specify discretionary car trips, which are just as unnecessary as alcohol and easy to avoid if you stay home, make people visit you, walk or take trains, etc. Annoying? Sure. But why can't you avoid driving places for fun for 9 months? It's such a short time. Same for foods carrying listeria - your baby's life is at stake, is that not worth the effort of trying?

I'm not personally committed to drinking during pregnancy OR to avoiding unnecessary car trips during pregnancy, but i think it proves my general point about risk evaluation that people are reacting with "but you don't NEED any" for alcohol at levels far below what is known to cause harm, while being perfectly fine with low but potentially lethal known risks in other areas. [/quote]

Wow, you think not driving anywhere except what, work and the doctor, for nine months is as easy as not drinking alcohol?  Hey if you think a glass of wine with a meal is safe for you and your baby I say go for it, you are probably right, but don't act like giving it up would be tantamount to losing your ability to out with your friends for nine months.  With listeria, it's pretty easy to accidentally eat a sandwich with bean sprouts. It's not nearly as likely that you'll accidentally drink alcohol.

I am not for policing pregnant women who drink alcohol.  I just think these arguments about listeria and riding in cars are silly. [/quote]

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