If you’re pregnant you will have been told that you’re unable to drink alcohol throughout your pregnancy by your doctor, however, some research suggests that a glass of wine now won’t cause any harm at all.
So if this is the case, then what kind of wine can you drink while pregnant? We’ll be diving deeper into these claims and clarifying the truth, we’ll also be giving some alternative recommendations of what else you can drink when you’re pregnant.
Is It Safe To Drink When Pregnant?
No, most if not all medical experts recommend that there is no safe amount of alcohol you can drink during pregnancy and that it should be avoided entirely.
When a woman drinks alcohol it passes from their blood through the placenta and to the baby. However, a baby’s organs do not mature until the later stages of pregnancy so any alcohol that is passed through the placenta will not be able to be processed properly.
A baby’s increased exposure to alcohol can affect their development, but could not be made known until after they are born.
Drinking wine during the first trimester of pregnancy can increase the risks of miscarriage, premature birth of your baby, or your baby having a birth weight that is too low.
Although the heavier you drink during pregnancy the more serious the effects could be on your baby.
Heavy drinking during pregnancy, regardless of if that’s two glasses of wine every night for the duration of pregnancy or 10 glasses of wine once a month can increase the risk of your baby developing a condition called fetal alcohol syndrome.
If your baby has this condition then they could display symptoms such as poor growth, learning, and behavioral problems, and distorted facial features.
Not only is drinking alcohol bad for the baby because it can be passed through the placenta, but also because high intoxication of a pregnant woman can lead to them falling over, with the possibility of them falling on their pregnant belly which could lead to complications and even miscarriage.
It’s very common for a woman to drink alcohol in the early stages of their pregnancy unknowingly as they’re unaware that they’re pregnant.
If you have drunk in the early stages of your pregnancy when you didn’t know you were pregnant then you should avoid drinking entirely until after you have given birth.
There are a lot of alternatives to wine such as non alcoholic wine or virgin cocktails. Ask your wine expert at your favorite restaurant.
What About New Research?
Studies have been carried out within the last couple of decades which studied a handful of women who drank during pregnancy (light to moderate drinking) and followed their newborn babies up until the age of 14 to see what behavior problems or physical implications they developed based on how much their mothers drank during pregnancy.
The study concluded that up until the age of 5 years old, there was no difference in the children of mothers who did not drink at all during pregnancy and those who did drink in pregnancy.
However, behavioral problems amongst all of the children began to decline as they got older but this could not be linked to alcohol and was concluded to be the natural process of growing up.
However, there is currently no ‘safe’ level of recommended alcohol that you can drink, so the best way to avoid harm to your baby is by attaining abstinence until after the baby is born and preferably until after you’ve finished breastfeeding.
There is this misconception that drinking wine during pregnancy is less risky than drinking liquor because it is less strong, however, the baby is still exposed to the same amount of alcohol as the mother so it will still be harmful.
So the only wine you should drink during pregnancy is non-alcoholic wine or otherwise just a soft drink or non-alcoholic beverage of your choice to remain abstinent until your baby is born.
What Can I Drink Instead Of Wine When Pregnant?
The health and safety of your baby are what is most important and if that means not having a sip of alcohol for 9 months then so be it.
This gives you the time to branch out and dry some different beverages that you might not usually get to try because you’d normally opt for a glass of wine.
As an easy alternative, you could always just pour your favorite beverage, whether that be sparkling water or a Coca-Cola into a wine glass to try and replicate the essence of drinking wine.
If you feel like nothing but the taste of wine is going to satisfy your craving, then you can always choose to go for alcohol-free wine.
There are so many different brands and styles of non-alcoholic wines out there, some a bit more convincing than others so if you pop into your local grocery store or wine store, they’ll probably have a good selection for you to choose from.
There are even non-alcoholic bottles of champagnes out there that you can buy which now means you can lift your glass during a toast and be able to take a good sip from it afterward in celebration.
Below are some recommendations for some homemade non-alcoholic drinks that you can make whilst you are pregnant so you don’t feel like the odd one out and you don’t have to miss out on social occasions.
To make fake champagne, you can combine 1 part pineapple juice with 2 parts white grape juice and then add in 3 parts ginger beer to create the bubbly effect.
If you find out you’re pregnant in the early stages of pregnancy and you don’t want people to know yet. You can create fake cocktails that look the same as real ones. Why not try recreating this fake mojito recipe?
You’ll need the juice of 3 limes, crushed ice, club soda, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and some ripped mint leaves. You can also add in some extra syrup for a boost of flavor.
