A mother has shared her concerns after her husband slammed her for drinking alcohol during the second trimester of her pregnancy.
The six months pregnant woman, known only as Anon, took to parenting forum Netmums to ask other mothers for their advice on whether her unborn baby’s health was at risk after she drank two glasses of wine in one evening.
And while some parents warned the mother against consuming alcohol during pregnancy, most reassured her that the occasional glass of wine was acceptable.
A mother has shared her concerns online after her husband slammed her for drinking two glasses of wine in one evening during the second trimester of her pregnancy
Kicking off the discussion, the pregnant mother-of-one admitted she was ‘sick with worry’ and predicted a backlash at her confession.
Explaining that she was 24 weeks pregnant with her second child, she estimated that she had consumed six glasses of wine during her first trimester.
She continued: ‘Since then I have probably had one glass or two most weeks, sometimes three.
‘I hadn’t felt particularly guilty about this. It’s my second pregnancy, the first time around I didn’t drink more than 2 glasses the whole pregnancy, followed the guidelines to a T.’
The pregnant woman, known only as Anon, took to parenting forum Netmums , to ask other mothers for their advice on whether her unborn baby’s health was at risk
Explaining that she was more relaxed during her current pregnancy, she revealed that she was a regular gym-goer, as well as working a ‘stressful’ full time job, looking after her 6-year-old son and travelling on the underground.
‘Last night, after a particularly stressful week I had 2 glasses, my husband found out and has hit the roof,’ she continued.
‘I’m now really worried about the damage I may have been doing. I realise its too late to do anything now, and the best I can do is to stop drinking through the rest of my pregnancy, but I wondered what others thoughts were on the matter.’
Some parents warned the mother against drinking during pregnancy, arguing that it wasn’t worth the risk
And she was soon came under fire from other mothers on the forum, advising her it wasn’t worth taking the risk.
‘I’m a big no no to drinking in pregnancy, I didn’t touch a drop. I wouldn’t feel the need to have 2 to 3 glasses every week now either,’ one woman replied.
Another mother suggested she stop drinking going forwarded, adding: ‘I don’t like it when people comment saying they have been told drinking a few glasses of wine is okay in pregnancy.
‘It’s not- I actually asked my midwife if it was okay and she said no.’
However most reassured her that the occasional glass of wine was acceptable, admitting that they too did the same
And others didn’t mince their words, with one claiming that the size of the glass was an important factor.
She added: ‘You clearly know that drinking any alcohol whilst pregnant is not advised as you have been seeing your midwife who tells you at the start of pregnancy that you can cause your baby to have fetal alcohol syndrome.
‘If you are finding that you can’t give up drinking whilst pregnant this could be a sign that you are dependant on it- call the midwife and ask to see someone from the team.’
But other parents were kinder, admitting they could relate to the the expectant mother.
Sharing her own story, one mother wrote: ‘I found out later than normal that I was pregnant and had been drinking fairly regularly, and more than a few at the weekends till around 14.5 weeks.
‘I saw a specialist because I was concerned and she wasn’t – so don’t worry!’.
Others shared advice on how they avoided drinking, revealing that that they enjoyed ‘non-alcoholic gin and tonics’
Agreeing, a pregnant mother-of-four revealed that she enjoyed the ‘odd’ glass of wine during each pregnancy, adding: ‘You will prob get mixed opinions on this but personally I wouldn’t worry’.
Another mother recommended sticking to a small glass of wine once or twice a week, adding: ‘Even as recently as early last year the nhs website was saying you could have one or two units twice a week, so I figured it couldn’t be that bad.’
And many shared their advice, with one mum writing: ‘I used to buy those mini bottles of wine to stretch over a Friday and Saturday night, then I would know exactly what I’d had and wouldn’t feel like there was an open bottle tempting me’.
One added: ‘My midwife was super chilled when I was pregnant but I remember her saying that by the time you feel only just ‘happy’ the baby is already drunk so I would only drink one and occasionally.’
Another suggested: ‘If you need reassurance you could book a private scan.’