A new campaign in Australia is aiming to discourage women from taking even a few sips of alcohol during their pregnancy. The initiative cost $350,000 and has support of the state government.
They are recommending that women who are either pregnant or trying to get pregnant refrain from drinking alcohol altogether -- because there is not concrete proof of whether or not small amounts of alcohol have an effect on the unborn baby. They have concluded it's just not worth the risk -- and I have to agree with them on this one.
When I first found out I was pregnant, I can remember going out to dinner with my husband and seeing a heavily pregnant woman at the table next to us sipping a glass of red wine with her meal. And while I'd heard from quite a few people that it was perfectly safe to have a glass here and there while expecting -- something about watching her drink that wine with a baby bump really turned me off. (And I wasn't the only person in the restaurant who was staring at her & judging her up and down.)
From that point forward, I knew there was no way I would dare go near alcohol until after my son arrived. But that doesn't mean I wasn't tempted to break down and have one tiny little drink -- especially on New Year's Eve. We celebrated at my parents' house that year, and I remember wanting to have a taste or two of champagne in the worst way. I almost gave in and took a sip -- but then I thought about the potential negative effect it could have on my baby, and I refrained.
Plenty of pregnant women have enjoyed a glass of wine or two and wound up delivering perfectly healthy babies, but savoring a little vino just doesn't seem worth the risk of having something interfere with your unborn baby's health or development. There's plenty of time for happy hour after the baby arrives -- and that's when moms really need a drink to unwind anyway.
Have you had any alcohol during your pregnancy?
Image via Hans Voorn/Flickr
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Comments 46
I had the occasional glass of wine while pregnant. If there was a study that showed it was harmful I wouldn't do it, but there isn't so I'm not worried. Also many of our mom's smoke and drank heavily not knowing it was bad and most of us turned out just fine. I am not condoning smoking (as there is evidence that this is bad for both you and baby) or drinking heavily but I think many of the limitations on moms these days are a bit overboard. 5 ounces of wine every week or two is not going to harm anyone. If it was there woud be a study that proved that by now.
Yah, what she said.
How ridiculous. When I was pregnant my doc told me that the only reason US doctors tell women they cant have alcohol at all is because we are so litigation-happy in this country that every woman who had a baby with any issue would blame it on the doc who said one beer or glass of wine was okay and they'd sue him. I didnt drink excessively when I was pregnant but I did have the occasional glass of wine. Its harmless. Beside to me to have a fine for this or making it illegal is insane and one step closer to us all living in a police state. My body, my choice.
There is no concrete proof that small amounts can or cannot harm a fetus because it is unethical to test on humans. If someone wants to enjoy moderate amounts of alcohol in pregnancy rather than fall prey to scare tactics, then kudos to them, I say!