is it bad to drink if you may be pregnant?

Question

This past week I drank 2 margaritas and a beer and well I started cramping in my lower abdomen. There is a good chance I may be pregnant but my period isnt due until after this weekend. If I am indeed pregnant could I have harmed my potential child. Or will it be okay. What could have caused the cramping? I keep getting twinges of cramps here and there.

Answer 1

Just do not drink any more......

Best wishes.

Answer 2

This early into the pregnancy it probably won't do any serious damage, but hold off on the drinking until you know for sure that you aren't pregnant. I know I drank the week of my birthday very heavily, and found out 2 1/2 weeks later I was pregnant. Well, that definately put an end to that! But 9 months later, my little girl was born November 17th and she is perfect. So at least once I knew, I didn't get to drink anymore. I think many women probably drink in the first few weeks, because no one really knows that they are pregnant by then. Don't worry too much about it, but get a test as soon as you can, so you can know for sure. Good luck!!

Answer 3

You really didn't drink enough to do harm to the baby. Children with FAS (fetal alcohol syndrome) have parents that regularly drink throughout the entire pregnancy. As long as you are careful from now on you and your baby should be fine. It is true that alcohol does the most damage during the first trimester, you have to ingest a larger amount and more frequently than you did.

A lot of people posted about you not drinking and that you are a drunk but I just wanted to let you know that you aren't a bad person. Your question is clearly stated but people don't read questions all the way through. You weren't asking if you should be drinking throughout the pregnancy....

Good luck with everything!

Answer 4

A baby's nutrition is based on what it's mother intakes.

Eating plenty of healthy foods - fruit, vegetables and fish - is a great place to start. But, most importantly, the best way to insure a healthy baby is to have a 'balanced diet'.

It's okay to have the odd packet of crisps, but don't be caught out, though. If you feel crappy, you instantly dive for 'comfort foods'. They are items such as chocolate, crisps and ice-cream. The more you eat, the worse you will feel. The baby will probably get very distressed due to all the bad food as well. Although chocolate is very good for women who are on their period or pregnant, don't over-indulge.

Those twinges may well be your body - and probably the baby too - telling you that you have had too much to drink and need to calm it down.

Keep an eye on the problem. If it persists, speak to your doctor.

Answer 5

Before you knew you were pregnant, you might have been drinking a glass of wine or eating a tuna fish sandwich on a daily basis. Is that bad?

No, because during the first two weeks after the impregnation there's no contact yet between the fertilized egg cell and your bloodstream. Only in the third week will the exchange of blood between you and the embryo start. That recalculates into week 5 and by that time you're usually already well aware that you're pregnant.

Answer 6

Hi it will be ok for now but do not drink anymore if you find that your are pregnant, as it can cause fetal alcohol syndrome, here is a link http://alcoholism.about.com/od/fas/Fetal_Alcohol_Syndrome.htm

I it can seriously harm your baby, if you continue to even drink a liitle amount when carrying or breast feeding you baby, it is more common that most disease that can be passed on from mother to baby.

I have been ttc and I have stopped drinking in case I am pregnant, but it could just be your period coming on even if it is just after this weekend you still can ovulate 14 days before and still get cramps. you will just have to wait and see if you come on.

I would suggest if you are trying for a baby as noone is sure if that they have concieved before they miss a period it is a good idea to not have any alcohol at all just incase.

Answer 7

Yeah, it can hurt the baby since the first few months are the most critical in the baby developing. If you think you are pregnant try not to drink until you know for sure. I drank at the very beginning of my pregnancy, but I didn't know I was pregnant. But even when I thought I was, I stopped just in case. Turns out I was, but there was nothing wrong with my baby at all. You just don't want to take the chances of something happening.

Answer 8

If you are pregnant you probably haven't done your baby any harm, but stop drinking now until you've confirmed the pregnancy and got some medical advice.

At this stage the dividing cells are still very tiny and you could lose the pregnancy for a wide variety of reasons. Nature ends many, many pregnancies for her own reasons, with the mother unaware she's even pregnant.

Answer 9

If you suspect you may be pregnant, it's always a good idea to stop drinking.
It may feel like a long time, but it's worth the effort for having a beautiful healthy child.
Pre-partum exposure to alcohol can be harmful to the foetus, as its organs are still in development. That level of alcohol named above should be okay, but cut down!
Admittedly at your stage, you're fairly safe, but excessive drinking can increase the probability of spontaneous miscarriage at this early point.

Answer 10

Stop drinking NOW.

If you are pregnant then you could of harmed your foetus, and since its only tiny, any amount of alcohole is dangerous. If you dont have your period then take a test and call you doctor, im sure with just that amount of alcohole your potential baby hasnt been harmed but i would stop drinking for the moment.

Answer 11

Yes, it's bad.
From a website about fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS):

"Mothers who drink during the first trimester of pregnancy have kids with the most severe problems because that is when the brain is developing. The connections in the baby's brain don't get made properly when alcohol is present."

Don't take a chance. Stop drinking if you are pregnant.
http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/brain/fas.html