Did you drink when you were pregnant?

[HG98]

I'm obviously in the minority, but am happy enough to have the occasional drink during pregnancy. With my first I gave up EVERYTHING- coffee, chocolate, alcohol, panadol, soft serve icecream, preprepared salads, soft cheeses. Since then, I've been pregnant every year and have never made out that I'm a martyr-- if I didn't each chocolate or have ricotta during pregnancy, I'd never get to! On the other hand, unlike other women, I try and minimise my baby's exposure to ultrasound/doppler waves and drugs during labour. It depends on what the individual is comfortable with-- in the end, it is the woman who has the rights to her body during pregnancy, not the baby. The law enshrines a woman's right to abortion, a choice in healthcare during pregnancy and birth, and the right to decide whether a premature baby will use resucitation equipment, for example. Just so, it is a woman's right to decide whether or not to consumer alcohol, tobacco or any other legal substance of her choice during the pregnancy.

[*Chels*]

Sometimes people do EVERYTHING right in pregnancy,and their babies are still not healthy
Sometimes people just go nuts and their babies are fine...
Who can say what will happen??
Anyways I find the people who refuse to drink a drop of booze,will quite often take any drug offered in labour or have a C/S.
And IMO thats just as dangerous(if not more) as having a couple of drinks throughout 9 months..

[lambjam]

"The findings have established that small to moderate doses of alcohol during pregnancy may have an impact on children’s cognitive and socioemotional development. To be safe and avoid potential damage to children’s health, care professionals are recommended to advise women to abstain from alcohol consumption during or when planning pregnancy"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weasel_word

[tiggerfields]

Oh come off it, WHO recommendations can hardly be accused of being weasel words. If you don't agree fine but lumping genuine medical recommendations in with crap advertising is just silly.

[lambjam]

It must be the least definitive recommendation I have ever seen come out of the WHO. And why? Because they, like the rest of us, do not have a definitive answer, and in the absence of one are erring on the side of extreme caution.

Enough with any implications that anyone who reads between these lines doesn't care for their babies. It's just nonsense.

[BebeBurton]

Oh come off it, WHO recommendations can hardly be accused of being weasel words. If you don't agree fine but lumping genuine medical recommendations in with crap advertising is just silly.

I just ignore those kind of posts Tigger they are not conducive to an intellectual or constructive discussion.

Members on the hub quote WHO recommendations all the time, funny that its "non definitive" information when it doesn't suit their argument.

[Jenga]

Surely after 34 pages of going around in circles this thread has run its course. For the record I can't believe people want proof alcohol will harm their baby before they cut out alcohol rather than err on the side of caution for the health of their baby.

[lambjam]

We obviously have different definitions of intelligent discussion. Mine does not include bullying, so I'm not surprised if it goes over your head.

To those who contributed nicely, thanks for the discussion. To the rest, goodnight. I'm going to have a drink