Drinking while pregnant--- child abuse?

[janey99]

Blaming your mother for everything!

Your height would you have been taller, how tall are the people in your family if they are short you have a good chance of being short drinking wouldn't have stopped that
On whether you got into Harvard doesn't that also mean that you had to work hard enough to get the score for it, blaming your mother because you are short and not a genius is rather disrespectful to you mother and rather petty.

Yeah, that was exactly my point

Read my exchange with Poohandwendy - she got it

 

[PaulaSB12]

I agree, besides EVERYONE knows that all that stuff has to do with when your were born and your astrology sign!

Even someone whose kid has four paws!

Any way seriously how come people managed to have healthy children when the only safe drink was wine or beer? Back in the old days when water was so dirty it was dangerous?

 

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

Any way seriously how come people managed to have healthy children when the only safe drink was wine or beer? Back in the old days when water was so dirty it was dangerous?

Yeah, I agree, or when paint had lead in it and kids licked or ate the paint and it caused brain damage......Oh, wait...

 

[DisneyFreak72]

Now people are filling their fetuses with alcohol and pour alcohol into their little developing bodies? Are we talking about binge drinkers or the pregnant mother who has a glass of wine to toast the bride and groom? I think there is a big difference.

Yes. Because the alcohol crosses the placenta directly, entering the embryo or fetuses blood stream without being filtered. In terms of where the alcohol goes and how it is processed in the body, drinking alcohol goes into the fetuses body in the same way it would if you put that same glass of wine into a bottle or an IV and put it directly into a born baby's body. Only the developing baby is even smaller.

I suppose the question that people are arguing about is whether the fetus will just get a little drunk, and get over it with no lingering effects, or whether that weekly glass of wine is going to cause life long disabilities. We'll never know for sure, I suppose. But, if you wouldn't give your baby Merlot in her baby bottle, why feed it to her through the placenta?

 

[DisneyFreak72]

Are you freaking kidding me?!

We're parked in a driveway! Can't you see another driveway directly behind me, Miss Observant?

Yes, I was kidding.

 

[pperfectmom]

But, if you wouldn't give your baby Merlot in her baby bottle, why feed it to her through the placenta?

I've seen plenty people give their child coke or diet coke in a bottle. Are they child abusers as well? I've noticed a lot more obese kids than toddler alcoholics.

 

[alizesmom]

I worked for years as an obstetric and nursery nurse. Would any of you like to see a newborn going through nicotine withdrawl? It's not pretty. How about one who is full term but weighs 3 pounds and looks wasted away? Or I could introduce you to my adopted son who is 4 years old and will never be physically or mentally older than 1 month. Yes, his mom used cocaine but she also used the same excuse "I used it with my other kids and they turned out okay." No risk is worth it. Karen

 

[DisneyfeverTN]

I worked for years as an obstetric and nursery nurse. Would any of you like to see a newborn going through nicotine withdrawl? It's not pretty. How about one who is full term but weighs 3 pounds and looks wasted away? Or I could introduce you to my adopted son who is 4 years old and will never be physically or mentally older than 1 month. Yes, his mom used cocaine but she also used the same excuse "I used it with my other kids and they turned out okay." No risk is worth it. Karen

That is a good point about the nicotine withdrawal. If a pregnant person thinks it's hard for her to stop smoking, think of what the baby will have to go through upon birth.

 

[HelenePA]

That is a good point about the nicotine withdrawal. If a pregnant person thinks it's hard for her to stop smoking, think of what the baby will have to go through upon birth.

I'll get points if I repsond to this the way I want...

I still can't believe knowing all we know now, people still do it. Just because its not illegal and you CAN do what you want to you and your unborn baby does NOT make it right!

 

[DisneyFreak72]

I've seen plenty people give their child coke or diet coke in a bottle. Are they child abusers as well? I've noticed a lot more obese kids than toddler alcoholics.

Soda isn't good for kids. But, there is a clear difference between drugs and alcohol and soda.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Fine, judge away but would you actually DO anything?

Well to be honest I would love to DO something about it but it is not my place. I do however find it disgusting and that you will be able to tell by just looking at me. I'm not very good at hiding things. I don't care how anyone tries to justify it by saying they turned out fine. There are plenty of kids who don't turn out fine. Tell them it's okay to drink and smoke while pregnant. I'm sure they'll agree.

 

[mjkacmom]

I drank a glass of wine several times a week during the last few weeks of my twin pregnancy, at the suggestion of my OB. By then, I had contractions every 5 minutes every single night (it was also my 4th pregnancy). The only thing that would calm them down was a glass of wine. My OB said that if it was false labor, an irritable uterus, the wine would relax my uterus, and they would lessen, and if it was real labor, the wine would relax me, and labor would progress. Women in Europe drink alcohol in moderation during pregnancy - the problem with us Americans is that we do little in moderation!

 

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

I drank a glass of wine several times a week during the last few weeks of my twin pregnancy, at the suggestion of my OB. By then, I had contractions every 5 minutes every single night (it was also my 4th pregnancy). The only thing that would calm them down was a glass of wine. My OB said that if it was false labor, an irritable uterus, the wine would relax my uterus, and they would lessen, and if it was real labor, the wine would relax me, and labor would progress. Women in Europe drink alcohol in moderation during pregnancy - the problem with us Americans is that we do little in moderation!

Yeah, but for a lot of people, just getting there is like a three or four hour plane ride, then you gotta find a hotel! I'd rather go to WDW!

 

[AllyandJack]

My OB also recommended wine. She said a glass a week if I'm feeling stressed is good for me. I had high BP and stress, obviously, would make it worse. Stress can make the uterus contract, which isn't good if you're not ready to deliver. Wine actually relaxes the uterus. Women who undergo amnios are often told to relax with a glass of wine.

She didn't tell me to down it by the bottle, but a glass here and there if I was feeling particularly stressed was actually a benefit. I never needed BP meds. DD was a perfect size and had no problems.

Before I discovered I was pregnant with this one, I drank a TON. So far, I haven't needed my glass of wine. But, if it'll do the trick and avoid the BP meds, I won't hesitate to have a sip.

I ate a turkey sandwich today, too. Many people would say THAT was wrong of me.

 

[Planogirl]

I ate a turkey sandwich today, too. Many people would say THAT was wrong of me.

What's wrong with that?

OK, drinking while pregnant is bad in excess and some people think any is excessive. But you can't stop it.

 

[JunieJay]

I worked for years as an obstetric and nursery nurse. Would any of you like to see a newborn going through nicotine withdrawl? It's not pretty. How about one who is full term but weighs 3 pounds and looks wasted away? Or I could introduce you to my adopted son who is 4 years old and will never be physically or mentally older than 1 month. Yes, his mom used cocaine but she also used the same excuse "I used it with my other kids and they turned out okay." No risk is worth it. Karen

I never heard of a baby going through nicotine withdrawl. What happens to the baby, out of curiousity, that makes you know its going through nicotine withdrawl?

 

[darlak]

I never heard of a baby going through nicotine withdrawl. What happens to the baby, out of curiousity, that makes you know its going through nicotine withdrawl?

I'm curious about this too. I am a smoker, but never smoked during pregnancy. I was a foster parent for 12 years and had many babies born addicted to different substances. I would have to assume that many, if not most of these moms also smoked while pregnant. Maybe I just didn't see the effects of nicotine withdrawal since I was often dealing with the effects of crack withdrawal, which I would assume to be worse. I would love to know what to look for though.

 

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

I ate a turkey sandwich today, too. Many people would say THAT was wrong of me.

Only if it contained an ENTIRE turkey!

 

[alizesmom]

I never heard of a baby going through nicotine withdrawl. What happens to the baby, out of curiousity, that makes you know its going through nicotine withdrawl?

Just what you would expect from anyone withdrawing from nicotine. Irritible, jittery. I've seen some babies literally tearing at their faces. I'm aware that all babies cry but this is constant, unable to be comforted screaming. They fall asleep exhausted and eat poorly. Thing is, we only saw it in babies of smoking moms, usually the ones who smoked alot. Luckily it seems to be gone within a few days.

 

[TinkerbellMama]

Personally, I think it's abusive/neglectful to do/not do a lot of things while pregnant. Drinking alcohol/other drug use is way up on top of that list. It's a known teratogen and since there is no definitive evidence as to how much is too much (and that probably changes from pregnancy to pregnancy and even from day to day), I think it's just wrong to risk your baby's health by drinking. I don't want to see a pregnant woman having any amount of alcohol, but I wouldn't be TOO upset if I saw someone have a single glass of wine at a wedding or in late pregnancy/labor to relax/delay labor, etc. as is sometimes prescribed. Some doctors will say a few glasses a week are fine, but I don't trust that information anymore than I trust a lot of other information physicians may give (when my own research shows otherwise or raises doubts). I'm just sayin'--they don't have all the information needed to make that call, either...and it's not their baby! If I knew someone who was drinking regularly while pregnant, I would definitely say something to her. I would try to be as kind and factual as possible, but it would be absolutely worth risking the friendship, to me, to try to help that defenseless baby. That's JMO. As MouseHouseMama said, people used to do/not do a lot of things with their kids that we would never dream of today, but that doesn't mean we just throw up our hands and refuse to try to do better.

Despite all this, I don't think we can prosecute a woman for child abuse or neglect for not properly caring for her unborn child. That is a huge, slippery slope into legal quicksand. Education regarding the dangers of drinking while pregnant is a much better approach. Also, more research into FAS would be helpful. It's hard to do that kind of work, though, since you can't have controlled studies and have to rely largely on statistics and self-report questionnaires or case studies. And let's face it--women who have children born with FAS aren't highly likely to be interested in admitting the extent of their drinking to further scientific knowledge.