I went on vacation one and a half weeks after conceiving for 10 days and drank quite a bit! Upon returning I still didn't get my period (I am never regular!) and found out I am pregnant. I am very worried about the possible damage I have unwittingly done. Can you give me any insight into this? Thank you so much. ↓
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Name: rebecca | Date: Feb 24th, 2004 11:00 PM
i did the same thing with my daughter, although i found out at nine weeks and was drinkinking every weekend up until then.my daughter is now two years old and very healthy and happy.i didnt have a problem with her.goodluck! ↑
Name: Lisa | Date: Mar 18th, 2004 7:49 PM
I am now 6 weeks pregnant. I went to a wedding 10 days after conception and had quite a few drinks. I have been worried as everything I read on the internet is not reassuring. Though my sister didnt find out she was pregnant until 16 weeks and had carried on her social life as normal smoking and drinking. Her boy is now 9mths old and is perfect. All you can do is try and stop worrying ... thats what I'm trying to do. ↑
Name: xristinaki | Date: Jun 8th, 2004 3:50 AM
I had some medication also without knowing and i had some specialists search if it could harm the baby. They told me that since 18 days from conception these things do not affect the baby.If something goes wrong you loose the baby very early (like an ectopic pregnancy or a miscarriage). ↑
Name: ab | Date: Jun 14th, 2004 1:32 AM
I smoked a joint and drank like a fish on the vacation that I got pregnant. My son is now 10 yrs old - top of his class and a total sweetie. ↑
Name: Julie | Date: Jul 27th, 2004 8:53 PM
I am 6 weeks pregnant--everything has seemed fine until today. I had some VERY light brown spotting--not even really "liquid" and my breast tenderness has diminished a bunch. I am worried this means I have miscarried. I'm still queasy and tired and I haven't spotted any more but I'm really concerned. ↑
Name: andria | Date: Sep 24th, 2004 7:20 PM
i don't hahve any real medical expertise on this, however, i, too did the same thing! i was really worried for a while until i went to my doctor who said not to worry, when you read that alcohol, caffine and such is really bad for the embryo, especially in the very beginning they are refferring to people who are alcoholics and or drug addicts, and even then it's not garanteed that it will effect the babys developement. look at courtney love, she was a heroin addict and her son is perfectly healthy. i mean look how many women do the same thing! it's almost impossible to know your pregnant within the first few weeks, and so therefor, practically unavoidable. so, consider this happens with many women, the statistics don't support that there are an equal, or even substanial number of babies born with birth defects caused by some drinking in the first few weeks. try not to worry, and stay positive!!! ↑
Name: Mellissa | Date: Oct 19th, 2004 12:14 PM
Thank God! When people hear me worry about this, they just tell me not to waste my time fretting about it because, let's face it, everyone knows someone who had a healthy baby after a month of drinking unknowingly. My partner himself was in his Mother's belly while she had two months of Wedding preparations and Honeymoon excitement before she knew! So glad to hear there are other women out there with the same concerns. I concieved 22 days before my birthday and at a time when many people were being posted to other cities and countries from my work which equalled lot's of parties. It was almost 6 weeks before I found out we were going to be parents! I know that I'll blame myself if our baby isn't "normal" but for now, I could worry myself sick with something I can't reverse. Hang in there girls, I'm with you. ↑
Name: Jamie | Date: Nov 15th, 2004 11:21 PM
I have been doing the Atkins diet which is almost has no folic acid in it.I was not taking any vitamins either, I am now 7 weeks pregnant, an I in trouble ↑
Name: E | Date: Nov 16th, 2004 6:42 PM
Jamie, Between the 17th and 30th day after conception (or 4 to 6 weeks after the first day of a woman’s last menstrual period), the neural tube forms in the embryo (developing baby) and then closes. The neural tube later becomes the baby’s spinal cord, spine, brain, and skull. A neural tube defect (NTD) occurs when the neural tube fails to close properly, leaving the developing brain or spinal cord exposed to the amniotic fluid. The two most common neural tube defects are anencephaly and spina bifida. --- That said, your baby will likely be fine as NTD are rare. Hopefully you eat a well balanced diet and get enough FA from that. Most foods, incuding almost all cold cereals are fortified with folate. Look at the nutrition chart on the foods you eat and you will see that many of the foods have this. Rest easy:)
I forgot while I was typing that you were on Atkins... Hopefully your body had enough stored for the baby. How long were you on Atkins? ↑
Name: andria | Date: Nov 17th, 2004 1:04 PM
Martie, I am now in my fourth month, and I, too drank a lot in one month of vacation! Since I live in Italy it's normal to have at least 1 glass of wine at lunch and dinner. And because I was on vacation, I had that, plus cocktails after hours. I was concerned, and talked to my doctor about it. He said not to worry, but to stop everything once I knew about my state, and he took special care to check that everything was coming along as should. And everything is fine I'm happy to say! The spine is fully formed, and everything's going well! If you're worried, just talk to your doctor about it, and ask him to take extra care in following the development of your baby. Don't spend your time worrying about that which is beyond your control, what happened in the past, and focus on all that you can do now for the health of your body and that of your baby! It's the first 3 months that are a killer... uncontrollable hormones, anxiety, tiredness worries... just know that it's not going to be like this the whole time. Be patient and around the beginning of the 4th month you'll be feeling 10x better! ↑
Name: lucia | Date: Jan 13th, 2005 9:02 AM
Is drinking alcohol bad while you are trying to get pregnant? ↑
Name: Elise | Date: Jan 13th, 2005 3:13 PM
Drinking alchohol while pregnant can be dangerous, but the consequences are exaggerated somewhat. If a woman gets drunk quite a lot during her pregnancy there are many adverse things that can occur to her baby, but when this scenario takes place, the damage occurs in only 1 out of 1000 babies (give or take). Thus, it is not that common to harm your baby if you drink in copius amounts and even less so if you drink occassionally, but the point remains, do you want your child to be the one that is harmed. This is why alcohol should be avoided. Not because it is so inherently bad during pregnancy but because doctors feel they must warn woman of all the risks while pregnant so they do no inadvertently harm their child. If you had too many drinks once, I wouldn't worry about it. There is an extremely slim change that any permanent damage was done ↑
Name: Bridget | Date: Jan 13th, 2005 7:43 PM
I was just on vacation in New York for New Years, and found I was Pregnant upon returning as well. I've heard many stories of women not knowing they are pregnant until they're 2 months who had been drinking. As long as you quit now, you'll be ok from what I hear! ↑
Name: Dana | Date: Jan 16th, 2005 8:41 PM
Thank G-d I found this board. I have been making myself sick over this very situation. I am hardly a drinker at all but over the holidays I had my fair share. I just found out that I am preg. and I am so worried about the damage I may have caused. This thread gave me a bit of peace since everything on the internet tells of the horror stories! I know I have to stop worrying but it has been extremely hard. ↑
Name: CW | Date: Jan 20th, 2005 3:10 PM
I have done the same thing, and missed my period, but have not confirmed if I am pregnany or not. What did you find out? I only drank 3 times, but I also smoked pot once. ↑
Name: Pam | Date: Jan 24th, 2005 1:23 AM
I am so gald I found this message board as well. I almost never drink. This New Years we went with a group of friends to a major New Years bash and I downed about 9 cocktails (seems like so many). My husband and I have been stressing ourselves over this very issue since we now believe we are pregnet (will be confirming tommorow). I hope that you are all correct in your assesments. Thanks again for giving me some peace of mind. ↑
Name: lolo | Date: Jan 26th, 2005 12:42 PM
i drank the first month I was pregnant (not knowing I was pregnant)-when I found out that I was I freaked out myself-my doc said the baby would be fine-my daughter was born August 22,2003 and was 100% healthy. ↑
Name: Lisa | Date: Jan 29th, 2005 1:57 PM
My first pregnancy wasn't planned, I was a student in Mexico and consumed more than anyone's fair share of tequila (and cigarettes) right up until I actually found out. Whilst I'm not advocating bad habits, chances are very small. Laura is 5 years old and absolutely perfect.
By comparison, my second pregnancy was perfectly planned and alcohol, nicotine, blue cheese, caffeine etc etc etc free and I had to have a ERPC the day before New Years.
A large part of having a baby is down to chance and I think worrying about it is going to send you crazy. As long as you keep healthy now I think you and baby have absolutely nothing to worry about.
This message board is so cool, is there a pregnancy chatroom? I drank HEAVILY for like a month straight before I knew. We even used contraceptive gel every time. I guess there's always that failure rate. Anyway, I haven't even been to the doctor yet, just took the test today. I appreciate all your positive comments, because this was really worrying me!! ↑
Name: Ashley | Date: Feb 9th, 2005 4:14 PM
I am now 7 weeks pregnant and just found out last week. All through what woudlhave been the 3-6 weeks of pregnancy, I drank a lot of caffine.. coffey in the mornign and diet cokes in the day. I drank a little more than I should have 2 times during the those 3 weeks. I'm really worried... I also saw that the organs.. eyes, nose etc forms during the 5th week and i drank a lot of caffine that week... Could I have totally ruined my baby? ↑
Name: Vanessa | Date: Feb 13th, 2005 1:53 AM
I am 17 weeks pregnant and didnt even find out till 11 weeks. Up until then I probably binge drunk about 8 times a fair amount. Could anyone give me some advice because I am so worried about my babies health. vanessahmarie@hotmail.com ↑
Name: sheila | Date: Feb 28th, 2005 12:47 AM
My sister was on drugs for many years she was on crack and was an alcoholic. She has five children only one came out premature but no he's a strong 18yr old boy. I thinkk it depends how much you drink and how frequently and if you seek prenatal care you should be alright. Most women dont know thir pregnate until thier 10th week or some later. And most stats are done by men. ↑
Name: Beth | Date: Mar 1st, 2005 12:53 PM
My husband and I are going on an all inclusive trip for a week. While we are there we want to start trying to get pregnant. It is bad that I drink while I am there? ↑
Thank goodness I am not alone! I just took three pregnancy tests this morning- all positive and all that came to mind was the three nights that I got totally hammered two weeks ago. I did talk with my doctor and he said not to worry. Good luck ladies, stay positive. You are not alone! ↑
Name: Shawn | Date: Mar 5th, 2005 10:21 PM
Just dont worrly God will take care of you and the preciuos baby, you did not know and he knows that. So just have faith, The baby is fine! ↑
Name: jacksmom | Date: Mar 8th, 2005 10:04 AM
I am happy to say that after having spent many days(2 weeks) celebrating our wedding in Hawaii we were pregnant. That was after many nights of drinking ...Jack was born at 39 weeks and was a perfect 10 on the APGAR score. I think your general well being is what matters most, being a marathon runner I know that I am healthy and that the alcohol played little in his development. Be kind to yourself, it is what it is....all will be fine. ↑
Name: Karen | Date: Mar 9th, 2005 8:16 PM
I too drank heavily before I knew I was pregnant. Not heavily on a daily basis, but a few binge drinking episodes. Do you think I should be worried?? Is there any test that the OB/GYN can perform to tell if there has been any harm to the fetus? Please help, I am worried sick! ↑
Name: Angel Lewandowski | Date: Mar 21st, 2005 12:19 PM
I was born with Fetal Alcohol Effects and my mother wouldn't stop drinking. My advice to you is to STOP right now!! If you can't, I'm sure there are places you could go for help. ↑
