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I'm not going to have anything. I LOVE LOVE LOVE wine, but I can withhold for 9 months! My midwife said not to have any alcohol, so I'm just going with that. 9 months isn't *too* long to wait for me

FYI I'm in Ontario Canada

I think a glass of wine here and there probably doesn't hurt anything, especially near the end of the pregnancy (and I had some in the very beginning before I knew I was pregnant), but I still held off from drinking while pregnant. I don't drink a lot anyway, so it wasn't a big deal for me to skip it, although I was definitely craving a glass of wine those last couple weeks!

My OB also says "everything in moderation is ok" I'm in my last trimester and waited until the holiday's to have a sip of wine. I love wine, but really don't have the desire to have it anyways because of my heartburn.

I drank alcohol-free beers (which do have trace amounts of alcohol in them) now and then over the summer, when I was in my 2nd tri. I've also had a couple sips of wine on two or three occasions during the 3rd tri. I was comfortable with this -- otherwise I wouldn't have done it -- but I also wouldn't have pushed it much further.

I had a half glass of wine about once a week or so after the second trimester. I think if absolutely no amount was safe, we'd see higher rates of FAS in regions of the world where having a drink here or there while pregnant isn't demonized like it is here.

My OB was in the "everything in moderation" camp, and we have 2 friends whose doctors told them to have a drink whenever they liked because a half glass of wine was much less concerning than high levels of anxiety and stress. So, the rule isn't a hard and fast one for me.

I'm in the no alcohol camp, I did have a couple NA beers when I was pregnant which I never finished & a sip of wine that I felt guilty about for weeks. I can wait the 9 months to really enjoy it.

I've gone through and searched the literature, and it seems like all the studies have looked at pretty heavy drinking. I have not seen a study done on women who had, say, one glass of wine per week. It's hard to do, I guess, since not too many women want to put their baby at risk, and there's also women who misrepresent the amount they drink because they feel guilty. I would be willing to bet that having 1-2 drinks per week wouldn't hurt the baby. My grandmother always says she had a martini every Sunday when she was pregnant with all of her kids.

That said, I feel too guilty to have a glass of wine while pregnant. I tried having a half a glass when I was in my last few weeks with DS, but felt so bad about it I didn't finish it. I do help myself to a sip of whatever DH is drinking, just to get a taste.

I'm not a big drinker so I would be able to refrain from alcohol.

As for others, I've heard of Drs saying a glass of wine is fine. That's cool with me.

IMO, everything in moderation is fine. However, "moderation" has different meanings for folks. For example, I'm sure my FIL was shocked that I took 3 sips of my husband's wine at Thanksgiving, even though I felt that was a comfortable amount. I went to a party last summer and saw a 7 month pregnant woman have 3 glasses of rose and I definitely let out an eye roll or two.

I don't think a glass of wine here or there would really hurt anything personally. I haven't decided yet what I'll do. I will definitely abstain until the 3rd trimester, and then after that I'll talk to my husband to see what he is comfortable with. He doesn't drink at all so I suspect he might be uncomfortable with me drinking at all, and if that is the case I'll respect his feelings because it is his kid too I'm growing in there. But if he's cool with that I may let myself have a small glass once or twice in my 3rd trimester. I really did not drink much before pregnancy (like, monthly if that). But I really miss it at family gatherings! My parents always have wine with dinner (and my mom agrees it is fine in later pregnancy) so I could see me having maybe 1 small glass a time or two towards the end.

@MrsSCB: I LOVE that article!!!

I drank a glass of wine a week during my second and third trimesters last go-round. With the blessing of my MW.

I also ate raw eggs, drank coffee, slept on my back (and my stomach!), and ate soft cheeses in France. I avoided lunch meats and heavy lifting. My MW's advice was to do your own research and make the choice that feels right to you. This is fantastic advice for child-rearing as well, and something I return to over and over again.

I didn't drink when I was pregnant. Even nursing now, I haven't really had any drinks. There was a waitress in my town that was fired for calling the cops on a mom because she kept nursing her 7 month old while she was drinking. The police came and arrested the mom and then the restaurant fired the waitress.

I've had a sip of dh's wine or beer here or there during this pregnancy, if it's something particularly good (like, not a standard every day choice, but if we are at a restaurant and he gets something unusual or particularly yummy). I don't think there is anything wrong with small amounts occasionally, but I dont have more than a sip personally. I've had a lot more mocktails though and those are fun!

@Jennimac: Why was she fired?

I didn't drink at all. I won't for any future pregnancies either, I can handle 9 months w/o alcohol. I don't mind when others have a sip or a half glass of wine/beer/whatever but i'm not too big of a fan of drinking often during pregnancy. To each their own.

@Jennimac: Thanks! Definitely sounds like there is more to the story - I was going to be outraged if it was simply a case of a mom having a drink with dinner whilst BF'ing her baby. Being intoxicated whilst caring for a child is a totally different matter though....

@Ree723: yeah. When I first heard about it, I was really surprised, but I think she had multiple drinks and was nursing at the same time. It will be interesting to hear what happens in the trial.

@Jennimac: @Ree723: It is so odd, because the story is worded carefully. It says several people at the table were inebriated and at one point the mother was seen drinking, but it doesn't say how many drinks or anything.

I held off completely until my third trimester. At that point I would have 1/4 glass of wine once or twice a week or just a sip of DH's cocktail.

I love my wine but when pregnant I abstained. I did drink NA beers fairly often in the summer.