With Megan and I being surrounded by friends that are having babies, we have been talking more and more about the subject. Along with the usual baby talk comes the talk around the fact that she would have to stop enjoying wine for the 9 months of pregnancy. Megan has insisted that it be only fair that I stop drinking wine as well for those 9 months! Not being too keen on that idea because so much of my life revolves around the wonderful world of wine, I am somewhat excited I came across this new study, well sort of.
A study in the October issue of the Journal of Epidemiology published a study saying that it may be okay for pregnant women to drink one to two glasses of wine per week. The study showed that women who drank “not more than 1–2 drinks per week or per occasion during pregnancy were not at increased risk of clinically relevant behavioral problems or cognitive deficits compared with children whose mothers did not drink.” In addition, the study showed that children, especially boys, born to women who were light drinkers performed better cognitively compared to children born to women who did not drink at all.
Although this study is fairly compelling due to the large sample size, I am still inclined to believe the years of research that condemn alcohol consumption during pregnancy. I am not sure Megan nor I would be comfortable with her drinking while pregnant regardless of the studies that are out there. With the risk of birth defects and fetal alcohol syndrome, it is a scary thing to mess around with. Hopefully Megan will lighten up when the time comes and let me enjoy wine while she is pregnant, at least so she can live vicariously through me. J
Cheers!
Anything Wine 
You crack me up! Yeah, a sip or glass here and there won’t hurt. Everything in moderation! I did want to pass along that Rob quit drinking when we got pregnant with Harrison (our first), mainly to quit smoking as well (and it worked). However, when I announced Logan’s pregnancy, he said swiftly “I will not quit drinking this time”. I was fine with that, but I’ll tell you one thing, I tend to SMELL all the drinks I can during pregnancy. 9 months seems very long when you’re used to having wine/beer/whatever weekly (daily?), but it does go by fast! You guys should take a trip to WA before you do get pregnant though, we have some great winery’s out here and down in Oregon!
Great info!
My doc, my ob/gyn, and my midwife were all clear–no alcohol! Too big of a risk. Once well along, however, it does seem ok to have a sip or two, even a few ounces, especially with a meal. I didn’t miss it much since the morning sickness can last most of the pregnancy and I had little or no desire to drink–but I didn’t want to smell much alcohol either!
The challenge came during extended breast feeding–and I do mean extended. I nursed for 3 years, 2 months. I drank rarely for the first year. It did seem to have an impact on the flavor and digestibility of the milk so if I did drink, I had to pump and dump the milk (no fun). When I did drink, it was after breast feeding before bedtime and with food.
Kids are worth it though!
The study you refer to is inherently flawed. The researchers used self reporting by the mothers, which is the least scientific method of getting information. In fact, research has shown self reporting is grossly inaccurate. In a recent study, 3% of women self reported drinking. Hair sampling showed 26% were drinking. In another study, 73% of women who denied drinking were shown to be lying through urine sampling.
I have worked for 18 years in the epicenters of prenatal exposure to alcohol on reservations. Take it from me, you don’t want to take any potential away from your child.
Interesting. Wondering what the statistics in European countries are because I wouldn’t be surprised if light wine consumption during pregnancy were common in other cultures…
Maybe there’s a varietal Megan really doesn’t care for, you might get away with drinking. 😉