[angelkisses0102]

ABC News: Can Pregnant Women Ever Drink?

Thoughts? Especially curious how other parents of children who are or may be alcohol impacted feel....I'll be back later to post.

[angelkisses0102]

Keep it to Yourself?

ABC News Correspondent JuJu Chang, who recently had a baby, says that "any time a pregnant woman goes out in public and drinks, she is liable to get harsh scrutiny from friends, relatives, even complete strangers. But whatever she decides, that decision is between a pregnant woman and her doctor and not some random stranger on the street who wants to assert their opinion."

WHAT ABOUT THE BABY? They get no choice in the matter yet may have to suffer the effects of the alcohol FOREVER!!! While I have no proof that my children are alcohol impacted...I highly suspect we rae dealing with alcohol related issues in at least one of them.

Go to the link and read the comments if you have some time...surprising!

[DET62]

I am FURIOUS that ABC would air this story!! I registered and posted a comment on their website, I was so horrified. The producer who greenlighted that story should be fired, or better yet, spend a week caring for a child who has FAS.

My daughter has only very mild FAS, but it affects our lives every single day. She will struggle for the rest of her life.

I was never a big drinker, but I completely quit drinking as soon as my daughter came home. I watched her come unglued with anxiety one night because I had a beer, and I thought, this is so not worth it. She spent her first 6 years with an alcoholic birthmom.

I used to like ABC but I will not watch it any more, because of this kind of sensationalistic garbage.

[Kasey]

I worked in L&D and OB for quite a while, of the 4 docs I worked with, one always said no alcohol at all, same with caffiene, not one drop.

The other 3: no alcohol during 1st trimester. After that it was 2 glasses of wine or beer per week. Though I have to say they really tailored their responses to the particular patient which was interesting. Some women who seemed "risky" were always told no alcohol. Others were told in moderation.

I think Dr. Mortiz' statement regarding FAS in his practice was a little much, altho I am sure the truth because if he is private practice, I am guessing the majority of his patient's are not in high risk category for alcohol or drug use during pregnancy, not to mention the fact, he is OB, so generally they don't see the babies in follow-up as the months go on.

I worked in L&D in hospital with mostly high risk clients, none to little prenatal care, lots of drug use and drinking during pregnancy. most were crack, coke, and heroin. I could say like Dtr. Moritz I have never seen a case, because I havent but I know enough it most likely was not diagnosed while under our care. We did see many babies born addicted and watched them go thru withdrawal.

How do I feel about this, ambivalent I guess. I do feel having a glass of wine here or there is fine, I have had friends who have a drink or two during their third trimesters and I never looked down on them at all, who am I to judge with that, these are well educated, wonderful caring people who discussed the issues fully with their OB's. My one friend HATES beer, but for both her pg had intense cravings for guiness late in her third trimester-so she would have one glass.

I do think docs walk a very fine line though and the safest thing to say is don't drink at all, because you can have someone who hears sure one glass a week is fine and translate that into well if one glass a week is fine, a bottle a day would be fine too.

I did see this on GMA this past week and it peaked my interest as a nurse. Did I think it was a little over done, yes, the one woman I thought maybe was indulging a little too much, but without studies no one knows the right amount and how many of our parents drank during pregnancy and smoked? I cant tell you how many arguments I have had with patients regarding smoking and they all said well their parents smoked and drank and they are fine and no matter what stats or info I would present to them would change their mind.

Believe me I am in no way advocating unhealthy behavior, just offering another view from my experience.
Am I living with it with my kiddos, no not yet, my older one was most likely exposed in utero, he had very small head circ that has been followed since being home and as he approaches school age we will continue to watch and hope there are no long term residual effects. My second guy, we don't know about the alcohol but he was born addicted to a drug and went thru withdrawal.

Our experiences in life and with are kiddos are definitely going to make each of us look at this story differently and I have had several pg friends each comment differently about it as well-so much depending on the info they have been given from their own OB's.
Opinions, beliefs and facts change constantly in medicine, it is forevering evolving, so many things I did as a new nurse are not even practiced anymore and that was only 13 years ago!

[GCS]

We spoke with a Neurosurgeon about this a few years back. He said that every drink will affect the child. To what degree they can not say. Everyone's body metabolizes alcohol differently and there is no way to say that one glass will affect all women and their unborn child in the same way. The best thing to do is to abstain completely during pregnancy.

But this is controversial because people do not want to have to abstain so doctors use the studies available (which are very limited) and set parameters. There are still those old fashioned doctors who tell you it is fine for the child and the mother if it helps her to relax as long as it is in moderation. Mothers will say but I did this with my last pregnancy and it was fine. Really, how do they know? How do they know what damage that drink did to their child?

If there was a sure fast test to diagnose someone on the FASD spectrum, I firmly believe doctors would change their tune. But what doctor treating a child with ADHD asks the mother if she had an occasional glass of wine while she was pregnant? FASD had been diagnosed in only the most severe cases in the past. It is believed that 1 in 100 people have alcohol related impairments.

In the past ARND/FAS/FAE were all categorized differently but lately studies have begun to put them all under the FASD classification and look at it as a spectrum disorder. So if you are reading material from a year or so ago the terminology may look different but nothing really has changed.

ABC News Correspondent JuJu Chang, who recently had a baby, says that "any time a pregnant woman goes out in public and drinks, she is liable to get harsh scrutiny from friends, relatives, even complete strangers. But whatever she decides, that decision is between a pregnant woman and her doctor and not some random stranger on the street who wants to assert their opinion."

This makes me crazy.

If your doctor can tell you that there is no risk to the child in drinking while pregnant then your doctor is a fool. Maybe that random stranger on the street has a child at home who’s life has been forever altered by prenatal alcohol exposure. If you can not abstain from drinking for the duration of your pregnancy to ensure good health for your child you have a substance issue and need to seek professional help

ummm... I might need a little help getting off this soapbox...where is my blood pressure medication anyway?

[angelkisses0102]

I am waiting to get an OK to post a link to a blog response to this but...the picture from the blog.

So is this then OK?

[Kasey]

Christina--interesting about your neurosurgeon, a pediatric one we had consulted with awhile back , when I put the question to him, said he felt there was no way to really tell what number of drinks would effect a child, just like there was no way to tell how much of one kind of food or one kind of activity...
He felt strongly abstaining would be the best, but could not tell me in terms of numbers.

Again, not trying to rile anyone up as if I was/when I was pg I would/did not drink. But that is how I personally felt, just interesting all the differing medical opinions and thoughts out there.

As far as the stranger thing, I agree with that, my friend who was very pg and I were having lunch, I had a glass of wine, she was having sparkling water in a wine glass and a woman came up and berated her for drinking, she didn't believe it was water until I made her taste it. that angered us both and got my friend very upset.
But that woman felt very strongly, I may frown upon seeing a pg woman in public drinking, but I would never walk up to her and say something.

[angelkisses0102]

IRL I am witnessing an interesting/sad situation of fraternal twins...one of whom appears to be FAS and the other not...certainly proves the point that it depends on the individual fetus and its development as to whether or not the child will be suffer. Of course no one in the family (who believes a few drinks are OK during pregnancy) wants to believe that the twin who is struggling is anything other than preemie delayed...even though the baby has FAS facial features and the other child doesn't.

Very, very sad...I just don't get why anyone would take the chance!!!

[amyfk]

I just feel that if folks want to be responsible enough to be a parent(and that's the most responsible job in the world) then they should be responsible starting with TTC and pregnancy.
The reason I adopted was not because I had infertility, but because my medical doctor told me that the medication I took(prescription medication) could lead to possible birth defects in a fetus. I couldnt get off the medication successfully so I moved on to adoption.
Being a good parent starts inutero. Starting at the beginning of the 9 mo. youre responsible for that baby.
I hope I dont offend anyone, that is my personal opinion however.
Amy K, NJ

[proudmommyof 2]

Karen,

Before you posted the pic, that was going to be my next question:

If a couple of drinks here and there in utero is okay, is it also okay to mix a baby's formula with vodka or rum here and there, too? Just a couple of times a week. What could it hurt?

BTW-I'm one of the ones dealing with the effects of FAS.

[kizibits]

I am outraged and disappointed that ABC would basically come out with a report that gives a greenlight to drinking during pregnancy. Like many of the other families here I am dealing with the end results--a child with FASD. When I see the things she has to suffer with because of her bmom's irresponsibility, it makes me cry.

Jeana

[NeedsANap]

My mother drank when she was pregnant with me. Certainly not excessively, she's never been a heavy drinker, but a glass of wine once or twice a week. It was recommended by her OB...not just approved, but suggested, to help her relax. Not to be my own cheering squad here, but I've never had any impairments or delays as a result of this...I've generally been ahead of the curve developmentally and have ended up a relatively successful and healthy person.

I'm not saying this is always the outcome... obviously experiences on here prove otherwise...but I do object to condemning anyone who had a drink during their pregnancy, even with the ok of their doctor, as a horrible, uncaring, irresponsible parent with a substance abuse problem requiring professional help.

[angelkisses0102]

Originally Posted by NeedsANap

Not to be my own cheering squad here, but I've never had any impairments or delays as a result of this...I've generally been ahead of the curve developmentally and have ended up a relatively successful and healthy person.

I'm not saying this is always the outcome... obviously experiences on here prove otherwise...

How would you have felt if you had a different outcome? If you struggled through every single day of your life? If you were so disabled you could not function in a normal classroom setting, if you couldn't attend college, if you had to be dependent upon someone your entire life? All because of a disability that is fully preventable (now.)

Why take the chance? That's what I don't get...

[NeedsANap]

How would you have felt if you had a different outcome? If you struggled through every single day of your life? If you were so disabled you could not function in a normal classroom setting, if you couldn't attend college, if you had to be dependent upon someone your entire life? All because of a disability that is fully preventable (now.)

Why take the chance? That's what I don't get...

Obviously, I can't know how I'd feel if my life had turned out differently...there are any number of factors that could have made me a different person than I am. I just don't think it's fair to condemn everyone as "bad parents who don't care," when not all doctors are telling women the same thing.

[GCS]

Originally Posted by NeedsANap

but I do object to condemning anyone who had a drink during their pregnancy, even with the ok of their doctor, as a horrible, uncaring, irresponsible parent with a substance abuse problem requiring professional help.

See, here's the difference. When the movie "The Way We Were" came out in 1973 there were scenes where Barbra Streisand's character is pregnant and smoking while sipping on red wine. This was to show us she was a woman of the times. Today if a writer/film maker included this scene in a movie it would be to show that the woman was selfish or a bad parent. We know things today we did not know in the 60's and 70's about how smoking and drinking affect unborn children.

I had a biological child before I adopted. It never occurred to me to ask my doctor if I could drink during my pregnancy. It was 2003 and we all know now that everything a woman eats and drinks affects her unborn child. I certainly can go 9 months without drinking. Why would I take the chance? I knew nothing about FASD at that time. I just knew that I wanted my unborn child to be as healthy as possible.

This is what we parents of kids with alcohol related issues do not understand. Why did that beer, vodka or wine mean more to our children's first mothers than their unborn child?

Now, I really don’t blame my child's first mother. She probably did not know what drinking could do to her child. Russia looks at drinking while pregnant much like we did 20+ years ago. If the mother wasn't a drunk then the child will be ok. This just is not true. And the thousands of children born in the USA today with alcohol related issues, even after we know what we do about the importance of the mothers nutrition tells you that this message isn't getting across here. That is why these reports are upsetting.