Why is it seen as a criminal offense to have a very occasional glass of wine if you're pregnant?

Question

Women have been drinking very lightly (and I mean not more than one drink) and very infrequently (I mean not more than once every few weeks) for hundreds of years during pregnancy with no known harm or consequence. Many European countries advise pregnant women not to exceed one drink a day. Many American doctors say it's ok to have an occasional glass of wine after the first trimester of pregnancy. I don't understand why people are SO judgmental and panicked about this these days. Why the stigma? Again, I'm not talking about drinking daily (or even weekly) or drinking several drinks at any one time.

Answer 1

I've asked similar questions. Of course, you get the person saying "even one drink can cause FAS!" Yeah -- right.

And the person saying "because you're giving your baby a beer too!" Interesting how something so tiny is drinking the whole thing without leaving any for the poor mum...

You might enjoy

"Wine and Pregnancy – Lies That Women Are Told"
http://dovercanyon.typepad.com/women_wine_critics_board/2006/01/wine_and_pregna.html

Note "Dr. Michael Samuels of New York City's Doctor's Hospital says that the data has been "turned around for the purpose of frightening women"" -- I think that sums it up pretty well.

& "Wine and The Expecting Mother"
http://www.stratsplace.com/rogov/wine_expect_mother.html

"...conclusion is that "the only risk free pregnancy is one that is meant less to benefit the baby than to imprison the mother in anxiety and self-reproach". "

Indeed. Older women must be howling with laughter at all the bullsh!t thrown at pregnant women nowadays. I place a great deal of blame on "What to Expect When You're Expecting." Have a miserable pregnancy; eat baked sweet potatoes when craving French fries, and deliver in the lithotomy position with as many interventions as possible, and DON'T QUESTION ANYTHING! You can see its effects in a lot of the Q&A here: 'if the doctor said it's necessary, then it is.' Period.

But I'm getting off topic. From
http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/FetalAlcoholSyndrome.html

""One drink can hurt your foetus," a mass media campaign in the province of Quebec, was dropped after a number of women who had consumed a single drink while pregnant, often before realizing they were expectant, began demanding abortions."

You can chalk a lot of it up to misleading public service announcements, and people's blind acceptance of same.

And possibly also thalidomide &c -- people are, reasonably, pretty terrified of birth defects. That a lot of these things are dose-dependent doesn't enter into the hysteria, though. There's an awful lot of reproach, too. If somebody comes on here and says "OMG, I just found out I'm pregnant, and I went to a party last week and drank," they're told they're fine. If they ask "Can I have a glass of wine a week now that I'm pregnant?" they're heaped with insults and told they'll be giving birth to a severely handicapped child.

And poor research. I was disgusted to find that pretty much every asthma inhaler is 'pregnancy category C' -- viz, untested. How hard would it be to do a study on drugs so commonly and consistently used that just about nobody is going to stop using while pregnant?

Some holier-than-thou undoubtedly enters into it. If I've thrown out my beer (and (pasteurized) soft cheese, and carefully prepared sushi), I'm probably going to be pretty bitter about people who don't live a puritan lifestyle along with me.

Good question.

Answer 2

I wouldn't do it until the third trimester, but I had a friend for dinner when she was in her 9th month and she had a glass with dinner (she's an OBGYN!) so I'm guessing she had done the primary source research LOL Personally, I've had an inch of wine in the bottom of a glass if there was a nice bottle open and someone said it tasted really good with a particular cheese or something like that. I'm not a heavy drinker, so it's just for the taste (and to feel more normal, after all, no blue cheese, no Brie or Feta, no sushi, gotta have something from time to time.) My sister didn't drink until 2 weeks before her due date, which was at Xmas. She hated the taste of it, so you might find that's afected too.

Answer 3

An occasional glass of wine is fine. I think the PSAs out there have put more in the minds of the public so that women who are pregnant don't go out and binge drink. Most doctors will tell you that it is okay to drink a glass of red wine. It helps calm the nerves and thin the blood. People who have never been pregnant (men included) don't understand that being pregnant can be stressful. You're not allowed to take anything for your nerves anyway.

Hard liquor should be avoided all together.

Answer 4

We are still learning about the effects of alcohol on a fetus. While an occasional glass of wine after the 3rd trimester may be safe for some women, it may not be safe for others. As yet, there is no "safe" amount that has been officially established for every woman. The public is behind in current information and this is how it usually is for most things. As the public catches up, you will see a gradual change in attitude.

Answer 5

I said this all day yesterday about something that was going on here - it's easier for people to judge than be judged!!
To most Wine is alcohol and a pregnant woman drinking alcohol is abserd.
Well, wine is a spirit and one glass isn't bad, actually, it's supposed to be healthy. There are many benefits to drinking wine.
But personally, i myself wouldn't drink anything until about 3 months after i've had the baby, that's just me. I'm not a drinker and it's hard to find the wine i like, i'm incredibly picky and the bottle i prefer is about $80 - lol, not something we can afford regularly, as much as i love my white wine.
I think one glass is okay, it's when people go stupid on wine and beer that causes problems.

Answer 6

I felt the same way when I was pregnant. My Obgyn said an occasional glass of wine was not harmful, however if I had a glass in public people looked at me like I was drinking Drain-o. Here's what I did. I blew it off and went about my business. I also went on to have a perfect little girl.

Answer 7

Let me start with: Being pregnant twice myself (but currently with another couple's twins), I cannot say that I have or I'd ever drink a cup of coffee, let alone wine.

OK, I'd like to look at this subject the way many other things are looked at here. It's all about people having a hard time with a women's right to choose. From owning their own land, to voting, to abortions, to smoking/drinking while pregnant, there just aren't too many people out there that are OK with letting a woman do what she'd like.

When I look at the subject that way, I just don't care what she chooses to do. I live my life my way and let others do their thing without getting judgmental and in their face. I'm not going to ask some people why in the world they have mullets. I don't get in people's faces asking them why they smoke and that it's not like they don't know it's killing them. I don't ask people why they don't vote, but feel it's OK to b*tch about who's in office.

I'm not too sure if I'm even answering the question anymore, but I do believe that how I began my rant pretty much sums it up.

Answer 8

One or two glasses of wine throughout the course of a pregnancy isn't going to harm the baby. When I was about to deliver my daughter, a nurse asked if I'd had alcohol while I'd been pregnant. I was honest and told her that I'd had a small glass of wine on two separate occasions (even told her exactly when it had been) and she just laughed and said if I'd had that few drinks in 9 months and was able to recall exactly when, then my answer was basically "no."

Answer 9

Because our medical research cannot tell exactly how much alcohol will affect a fetus, the rule of thumb is to avoid all alcohol during pregnancy to err on the side of caution. When we see a pregnant woman drinking, our initial thought is that she is being defiant of general knowledge and is putting the life of her unborn child in danger.

Answer 10

I think it is france that encourages a glass of wine... but yes people get judgemental and look down on it because there is so much Fetal Alcohol Syndrome around these days