Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Parenting > Pregnancy
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 01-23-2016, 09:17 AM
 
Location: Foot of the Rockies
90,316 posts, read 120,259,082 times
Reputation: 35920

Advertisements

Quote:
Originally Posted by TabulaRasa View Post
To be honest, as a person who typically concluded workouts with whirlpool and/or sauna time, I was actually far more concerned about the hot tub and sauna time I'd logged in the < 3 weeks between conception and learning i was pregnant. Given the risk of neural tube defects with that type of heat exposure, and the fact that those early weeks are exactly when the neural tube is beginning to form, that was a far greater wory to me than the two glasses of wine and glass of champagne I'd had my wedding anniversary weekend during the same window. That anxiety didnt go away until the anatomical screening ultrasound.
I hear what you're saying, but alcohol, not saunas, is the number one cause of preventable birth defects. Saunas are not recommended during pregnancy,however.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 01-23-2016, 10:50 AM
 
Location: The point of no return, er, NorCal
7,400 posts, read 6,337,897 times
Reputation: 9636
Quote:
Originally Posted by Katarina Witt View Post
That was a nice thing for him/her to say, because there was nothing you could do about it anyway. There's also a phenomenon in early pregnancy called "all or nothing", where something either causes the termination of a pregnancy or has no effect whatsoever.
Big Belly, Big Baby | Fit Pregnancy

However, as soon as you know you're pregnant (you, plural) you should quit drinking. No one knows what the cut-off level for alcohol during pregnancy is, so the safest approach is to not drink at all.



More common, yes, but it's not unheard of even in so-called "light" drinkers. This is kind of old (2010) but still has good information.
STATS: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

The American Academy of Pediatrics just recently came out with a position recommending no alcohol during pregnancy and cites a "recent study" showing that light drinking can also be problematic.
https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-...Pregnancy.aspx

The health authorities in virtually all developed countries recommend no drinking as the safest approach to pregnancy. Most leave it at that. Some few go on to say if you "must" drink, to limit your drinking to one drink once or twice a week. (Of course, my link for this isn't working right now!)
The issue with many of these studies is that they often rely on self-reporting. So what is one person's "light" drinking may be another person's "moderate" drinking.

I've done plenty of research during my pregnancies, and I still come away with the thinking that a glass a week after toward the end of pregnancy isn't something to be up in arms about. I mean, many hospitals offer IV *narcotics* to laboring mothers. So... a glass of wine to relax during a bath when I'm term is more dangerous than the Fentanyl given as pain medication. Yeah... I can't get on board with that thinking.

When it comes down to it you'll find fewer U.S. doctors green-lighting light alcohol consumption due to liability issues and Americans' over-consumption of not just alcohol, but many things in general.

My midwives with my fourth and fifth babies encouraged a glass of wine to help me relax when I was nearing my due date. Since I rarely drink as it is, maybe a handful of drinks a year, it wasn't something I strongly considered.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-23-2016, 11:29 AM
 
Location: Foot of the Rockies
90,316 posts, read 120,259,082 times
Reputation: 35920
Quote:
Originally Posted by Metaphysique View Post
The issue with many of these studies is that they often rely on self-reporting. So what is one person's "light" drinking may be another person's "moderate" drinking.

I've done plenty of research during my pregnancies, and I still come away with the thinking that a glass a week after toward the end of pregnancy isn't something to be up in arms about. I mean, many hospitals offer IV *narcotics* to laboring mothers. So... a glass of wine to relax during a bath when I'm term is more dangerous than the Fentanyl given as pain medication. Yeah... I can't get on board with that thinking.

When it comes down to it you'll find fewer U.S. doctors green-lighting light alcohol consumption due to liability issues and Americans' over-consumption of not just alcohol, but many things in general.

My midwives with my fourth and fifth babies encouraged a glass of wine to help me relax when I was nearing my due date. Since I rarely drink as it is, maybe a handful of drinks a year, it wasn't something I strongly considered.
I'm not going to say narcotics are good, but a) they are a different class of drug, and b) the pregnancy is almost over by then. This is a place where they old "that's different" really is true. A dose or two at the very end of pregnancy is way different than drinking throughout pregnancy.

I don't think it's just liability concerns that cause doctors to recommend abstinence during pregnancy. For one thing, it's a sort of corollary of what you said about self-reporting. If a doctor says it's OK to have a drink or two once in a while, the patient can interpret that many ways. How big of a drink? If two are OK, three must not be so bad either. What does once in a while mean? Christmas? Your anniversary? Or every other day?

Due to the above, your midwives were foolish to say that.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-23-2016, 08:13 PM
 
Location: The point of no return, er, NorCal
7,400 posts, read 6,337,897 times
Reputation: 9636
Quote:
Originally Posted by Katarina Witt View Post
I'm not going to say narcotics are good, but a) they are a different class of drug, and b) the pregnancy is almost over by then. This is a place where they old "that's different" really is true. A dose or two at the very end of pregnancy is way different than drinking throughout pregnancy.
Where did I say anything about "throughout" pregnancy. I said term, and a glass of wine, not regular alcohol consumption.

Quote:
I don't think it's just liability concerns that cause doctors to recommend abstinence during pregnancy. For one thing, it's a sort of corollary of what you said about self-reporting. If a doctor says it's OK to have a drink or two once in a while, the patient can interpret that many ways. How big of a drink? If two are OK, three must not be so bad either. What does once in a while mean? Christmas? Your anniversary? Or every other day?
I agree with you for the most part. I just don't vilify a woman who decides to have a glass of wine here and there late in her pregnancy. Everyone has to weigh the risks, whether it's sushi (which I ate regularly), deli meats (also ate), alcohol, medications, and whether to have a glass of wine during an anniversary or birthday dinner.

Quote:
Due to the above, your midwives were foolish to say that.
You didn't read what I said. Both midwives suggested a glass of wine when I was already 38+ weeks pregnant. I said nothing about regular alcohol consumption. In the context of an isolated event, I don't see an issue. (e.g., a glass of wine at term, compared narcotics offered during labor that *do* cross the placenta).
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-24-2016, 10:44 AM
 
10,196 posts, read 9,822,865 times
Reputation: 24134
Being able to get pregnant and carry a baby to term is such a gift. Just SMH at those who "weigh the risks". Its 40 weeks of your life that you can most influence the health and outcome of your child's life. Why be so selfish?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-24-2016, 03:40 PM
 
Location: Foot of the Rockies
90,316 posts, read 120,259,082 times
Reputation: 35920
Quote:
Originally Posted by HighFlyingBird View Post
Being able to get pregnant and carry a baby to term is such a gift. Just SMH at those who "weigh the risks". Its 40 weeks of your life that you can most influence the health and outcome of your child's life. Why be so selfish?
Agreed. Alcohol is the #1 cause of preventable birth defects.

WRT narcotics in labor, docs used to give women alcohol via IV to slow down labor. That is no longer done, too risky as well as not terribly effective. Alcohol is a different class of drug!
Ethanol (alcohol) for preventing preterm birth | Cochrane
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-27-2016, 09:15 AM
 
Location: Elsewhere
88,089 posts, read 83,946,203 times
Reputation: 114356
Quote:
Originally Posted by TabulaRasa View Post
Having just spent the better part of a year pregnant, I've gotten the most recent schools of thought on any amount of alcohol during a pregnancy. You will STILL find doctors that say, "A glass of wine is fine near the end of a pregnancy," or similar. You will also find many who say, "Absolutely no alcohol, in any amount, at any time."

While FAS has traditionally been more associated with heavy use/abuse, the prevailing trend right now is to assume that alcohol in any amounts has the potential to disrupt fetal development. It must be noted, however, that LOTS and LOTS of things have the potential to disrupt fetal development. That said, you can choose not to consume alcohol when pregnant. Some of the other things that disrupt fetal development, you don't have the same degree of choice over.

Also bear in mind that there can be up to a month, maybe more, when women don't necessarily know they are pregnant. I had my wedding anniversary and a weekend getaway the weekend before I found out I was pregnant, and was stressed over a champagne toast, a glass of wine with dinner, and some tastings at a winery on the first leg of the weekend...not much, but still. My OBGYN told me that at my stage of pregnancy, I would likely cause more harm by excessively worrying about it.
I was worried, too. I must have gotten pregnant Thanksgiving weekend, and so I was in the earliest stages of pregnancy throughout the season when there were lots of Christmas cocktail parties after work. I didn't think about it because I'd gone 40, 45 days without a period that year, had taken pregnancy tests that were negative, and was pretty sure I was getting to the point where I had to face the fact that I couldn't conceive.

That year we had the family Christmas gathering at my apartment, and my now-ex and I decided to paint the living room/dining area. There were a couple of walls left to do, and my husband said he would go shopping for the food if I would finish the painting. I LOVE the smell of paint, and so there I was, rolling up and down the walls, breathing deeply the lovely smell of the paint.

About a week later I noticed I was feeling very tired and had lost my appetite. I took a home test that was positive, but I didn't really believe it, so I went to our medical department at work and got a blood test, and yup, I was pregnant. And then I started to worry. With all the holiday partying I did plus inhaling the paint, had I done something?

She did have a slight lazy eye that had to be corrected through vision therapy, but my daughter is now 24, has two degrees, speaks several languages, and seems to be OK in spite of it all. But yes, I worried throughout the whole pregnancy. My doctor didn't believe in ultrasounds unless they were really necessary because of a suspected condition, so I never had one.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-27-2016, 11:49 AM
 
2,547 posts, read 4,211,715 times
Reputation: 5611
Quote:
Originally Posted by HighFlyingBird View Post
Being able to get pregnant and carry a baby to term is such a gift. Just SMH at those who "weigh the risks". Its 40 weeks of your life that you can most influence the health and outcome of your child's life. Why be so selfish?
Where do you draw the line? If a sip of wine isn't okay, is a cup of coffee? Or should you suffer through caffeine withdrawal headaches when you already feel like cr*p? Can you grab a sandwich with deli meat when you're hungry? What if it has listeria? Can you color your hair? Go out in public during flu season - you know if you get sick and get a fever it could cause birth defects? Drive? Even a minor accident could be extremely serious for the baby, so why take the risk at all?

All these things are technically "preventable", as are countless others. You don't *really* need any of it, If you truly wanted to be 100% safe during pregnancy, you could technically lock yourself up in a "clean room" and have someone deliver sterile packaged meals to you. It's only 40 weeks after all.

Yes it's a strawman argument, but so is saying that if heavy drinking leads to FAS so does half a glass of champagne . Yep they don't know the dose that causes effects which is why they say no alcohol is safe, but it absolutely IS dose dependent, so it's logical that microscopic doses won't harm anything. My doctor did in fact tell me, when I asked about half a glass of champagne for New Year's Eve, that technically they say 'no alcohol', but that "no your baby won't get FAS from half a glass of champagne, but you didn't hear it from me" I had a total of maybe 2 or 3 glasses of wine or champagne over each of my pregnancies combined - made up from things like a sip or two from hubby's glass and about a quarter to a half-glass on a couple of special occasions. Am I supposed to feel guilty about that too? fwiw my youngest is still a baby but my oldest is freakishly, almost scarily smart so no, I don't feel bad.

Oh, and before someone asks "but WHY did you need any alcohol at all, you must have a problem". For me it was honestly about the flavor experience, with a meal, rather than the actual alcohol. Which is why just a sip or two from hubby's glass usually sufficed. I love the complexity and tartness of wine and champagne and actually really wish they could recreate it in a non-alcoholic version. But I tried non alcoholic wines and they're absolutely disgusting. It's the same with the coffee - I limited myself to one cup of regular during preg. but drank another cup or two of decaf, just because I love the taste. If good decaf didnt exist I'd have more trouble. It was the same reason why some pregnant women at sushi. I actually never craved wine on its own, it was only together with certain types of foods that I really missed it.

Last edited by EvilCookie; 01-27-2016 at 12:03 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-27-2016, 12:08 PM
 
2,547 posts, read 4,211,715 times
Reputation: 5611
Quote:
Originally Posted by Katarina Witt View Post
That was a nice thing for him/her to say, because there was nothing you could do about it anyway. There's also a phenomenon in early pregnancy called "all or nothing", where something either causes the termination of a pregnancy or has no effect whatsoever.
Big Belly, Big Baby | Fit Pregnancy

However, as soon as you know you're pregnant (you, plural) you should quit drinking. No one knows what the cut-off level for alcohol during pregnancy is, so the safest approach is to not drink at all.
Actually, the reason drinking in the very beginning of pregnancy isnt a big deal is because the fetus doesn't share a blood source with the mother until 6-7 weeks gestation. Until then it's independent and hence not exposed to whatever substances the mom consumes - unless yes, they're major enough to cause miscarriage. It was evolved this way biologically precisely to protect the fetus before the mother knows she is pregnant.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-27-2016, 12:18 PM
 
Location: Foot of the Rockies
90,316 posts, read 120,259,082 times
Reputation: 35920
Quote:
Originally Posted by EvilCookie View Post
Actually, the reason drinking in the very beginning of pregnancy isnt a big deal is because the fetus doesn't share a blood source with the mother until 6-7 weeks gestation. Until then it's independent and hence not exposed to whatever substances the mom consumes - unless yes, they're major enough to cause miscarriage. It was evolved this way biologically precisely to protect the fetus before the mother knows she is pregnant.
Please provide a cite.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Parenting > Pregnancy

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top