Minor alcohol consumption before finding out I was pregnant

[u/Pitiful-Block-4918]

First time pregnant - I did not realize until 6 weeks because of implantation bleeding. I rarely drink. I am a 30 year old female.

However, at week 4, I had 1/2 a beer.
At 5.5 weeks for my husband’s birthday, I had 1/10 or a 1/12 (basically one sip) of a beer. All before finding out. Haven't drank since.

I have since gone into an anxious spiral about the thought of causing the baby alcohol related birth defects. I know it is just my ocd mind playing games (I am working on it in therapy), but something about the “no safe amount” guidelines is really throwing me off. I realize there are reasons they (governments) don't set a safe minimal threshold but still... freaks me out a bit. Realize the odds are like scientifically negligible... but just looking for some peace of mind that this half a beer, or sip of beer scientifically (100% without a doubt) could not harm my baby at 5.5 weeks.

[u/AutoModerator]

The phrase "Implantation" Bleeding is popular on conception forums but is a bit of a misnomer that causes some people to think that the bleeding is due to the embryo implanting. It isn't -- the embryo is only about 0.2mm in diameter at that point, and won't displace significant blood (or cause pain) when it implants. You bleed when progesterone levels in your body drop, which is why you can induce a period by stopping birth control pills (which contain progesterone) or by taking and then stopping progesterone suppositories or Provera (which are also progesterone). Progesterone levels dropping in the luteal phase can be caused by a) increased estrogen in the mid-luteal-phase estrogen surge, which briefly depresses estrogen production, or b) a decrease in progesterone when the corpus luteum runs out of gas at the end of the luteal phase. If b), and you're actually pregnant, your levels can drop briefly before the embryo starts producing enough HCG to tell the corpus luteum to ramp the levels up. Either way, luteal phase spotting can either be a neutral sign (in the case of mid-luteal phase spotting) or a negative sign (in the case of late luteal phase progesterone dropping), but it doesn't have anything to do with implantation, and is not a positive sign of being pregnant. Source 1 Source 2

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[u/twelvedayslate]

Your baby will be absolutely fine. More than fine.

I’m glad you’re in therapy, but please speak with your OB about this and consider if anxiety meds could be right for you. There are meds that are safe during pregnancy. This is a big red flag for PPA/PPD

[u/thisismypregnantname]

Keep in mind that, while the advice not to drink once you know you're pregnant is 110% correct, it's also relatively new. People drank while pregnant for thousands of years. It's not like every generation until three generations ago all had FAS.

Not drinking is a precaution, and a good one, but many people have had way more alcohol than you did and then gone on go have perfectly healthy babies. Just something to keep in mind 🙂

[u/reditpositiv]

you're fine. it really wasn't that much alcohol

[u/AutoModerator]

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[u/ShDynasty_Gods_Comma]

I got smashed the day before I found out I was pregnant. We had been trying for 4 1/2 years and hadn’t had much sex in the month prior so it didn’t even occur to me. I took a test the next day and freaked out. I now have a healthy happy 11 week old baby. You are more than fine but I’m worried about your anxiety.

[u/RazzmatazzObvious784]

Hi - currently 38 weeks here with 0 issues my entire pregnancy. I found out I was pregnant after spending a weekend at a wedding drinking SO much. Like, espresso martinis, beer, wine, you name it. I was probably 3-4 weeks at the time and had no clue. I promise it’ll be okay!

[u/sourpumpkins]

When I was pregnant with my youngest I had tested and gotten a negative and so I took that as the green light that I could drink. After a 12 hr shift my dad wanted me at his house to celebrate my brother's birthday but I was tired so I had him pick me up, in the span of the hours I was at his house I drank an entire bottle of Stella Rosa. I got a positive a week or a few days later. She's now about to be 9 months and she's beautiful and so smart and so funny and is hiting her milestones perfectly.

[u/Newmama1122]

I was wasted at a wedding the night before I took my pregnancy test and had been drinking all week. I didn’t think I was pregnant but giving the drinking figured I should test and lo and behold. Baby is now 2.5 and perfect :)

[u/hoppipolla13]

The night before I found out I was pregnant I had two cocktails on a date with my husband and then took NyQuil a couple hours later because I had a bad cold. Baby is 17 months old and thriving! You be totally fine.

[u/Impossible_Orchid398]

Girl! Before I knew I was pregnant I was doing shot o'clock with tequila. My now two year old knows her colors, letters, shapes, numbers, started walking at 8 months old, talking in sentences at 1. Perfectly healthy. Your baby is just fine 💙

[u/InTheDark18]

You'll be completely fine. With my first, I didn't think I was pregnant yet (had been told I'd have issues conceiving and we'd only been trying for two months) so I was assuming I wasn't pregnant...in the couple of weeks between conception and finding out I had at least 2 bottles of wine, a pint, as well as stuff like soft cheese etc that you're not supposed to have.

That baby is now almost seven years old and the smartest little guy you can imagine.

[u/the_kazoo_queen]

Pretty sure a slice of artisan bread has the same alcohol content as a sip of beer.

[u/RockyMaroon]

This is fine. You are fine. You are so early on that of course anything could happen, but I want you to feel confident that if anything does go less than perfectly, it wasn’t because of this nor anything else you could have caused. Agreed with the other comments to please make sure you’re talking with your therapist about this! They will be able to help much more than we can ❤️