Drinking While Trying to Conceive: Do You Need To Stop?

The answer isn’t super simple, and it really depends on whether or not you are planning to breastfeed. If you aren’t going to breastfeed, Dr. Daniel Roshan, MD, OB-GYN at Rosh Maternal-Fetal Medicine in New York City tells The Bump that having a drink right after labor shouldn’t be a problem. But if you are planning on breastfeeding, you may want to reconsider. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended that nursing moms avoid drinking alcohol because it can lead to your baby drinking less milk, and also alter the taste of your milk. That being said, many moms are able to have a drink while nursing because there are ways to safely nurse and drink without affecting the health of your baby. Another important influence is how much and how often alcohol is consumed.

How Drinking Affects Fertility

• Alcohol-free drinks, including beer and wine, may be safe to enjoy while you’re pregnant.
• If you feel that your doctor is judging you instead of helping you, consider finding another health care provider who gives you the support you need to stay away from alcohol.
• Studies have shown women are more likely to cut down on their drinking while trying to conceive if their partners also cut down their drinking in support.
• In the US, half of pregnancies are unplanned, so you can imagine how many women wind up finding themselves in this situation.

Other factors—like your environment, nutrition, and smoking habits—can also affect your odds of fetal alcohol syndrome. People do drink during their pregnancies, but the CDC’s official stance is that no amount of alcohol is safe to consume during your pregnancy or while you try to conceive. At every stage of your pregnancy, alcohol presents significant risks to your child. Alcohol use during this time can increase the risk of preterm birth and other complications. The baby’s brain continues to develop throughout pregnancy, making it vulnerable to alcohol’s effects.

• I tell patients I think one to two drinks a week is unlikely to be harmful – but that I can’t guarantee that there are no possible risks.
• I followed that advice,” says Alison, mom to a two- and three-year-old.
• After all, there is no known safe amount of alcohol during pregnancy, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Drinking alcohol while pregnant

Spirits have a higher alcohol concentration, but smaller serving sizes. Diagnosing Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) involves a mix of physical exams, behavioral assessments, and cognitive tests. Doctors look for specific facial features, growth issues, and brain function problems. That’s partly because you may be pregnant before you realize it. Some pregnancy tests can detect can you drink alcohol when pregnant trace levels of hCG, the pregnancy hormone, in your urine soon after a fertilized egg implants in your uterus.

The Real Deal With Drinking During Pregnancy

An FASD Family Navigator can be reached to provide one-on-one support from 9 a.m. Eastern time Monday through Friday via phone or by completing an online support request form. As you drug addiction treatment might imagine, the more you drink, the worse the outcome. But since there’s no known safe amount of alcohol during pregnancy, the best way to prevent FASD is to become a teetotaler the moment you find out you’ve got a bun in the oven! And if you’re actively trying to conceive, you may consider cutting down or abstaining to be extra safe. Babies whose bodies are damaged by alcohol are born with a group of disabilities known as fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS).

• The most important thing is that you have completely stopped alcohol use after learning of your pregnancy.
• This increases the chances of a healthy, alcohol-free pregnancy.
• If you enjoy having a beer with friends or a glass of wine with dinner, you could try an alcohol-free option.
• The key factor is the total amount of alcohol consumed, not the type of drink.
• Suffice it to say, consuming non-alcoholic drinks during pregnancy is a personal choice.

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Though more research is needed, there appears to be a relationship between alcohol consumption and high blood pressure during pregnancy. A 2018 study found that pregnant people who consumed more than 12.5 alcoholic drinks per week had higher odds of experiencing pregnancy-related high blood pressure https://luxuryclassic.pl/methadone-oral-route-side-effects-dosage-5/ disorders. The harms of alcohol consumption during pregnancy, especially heavy drinking, can be far-reaching. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder can lead to everything from birth defects to intellectual development problems to struggles with mental health.