I was a wine drinker - daily and occasionally heavily - up until my positive pregnancy test a few weeks ago. I am having a really hard time stopping drinking, since wine was such a big part of my daily life.
I would usually drink 2 to 3 glasses of wine a night, but on a weekend night, I would go through 2 to 3 of those "mini boxes" of wine, up to 1500 ML over a night of drinking on my own, or through at least one 750 ML bottle on other weekend nights.
The pregnancy was not planned, so I didn't know anything was up until a few days after my missed period (so about 4 and half weeks to 5 weeks from my last period, about 2 and a half weeks to 3 weeks from when my doc thinks I conceived).
I live in a super duper conservative area, and my doctor is very pro-life. So, he would never say "you should have an abortion, the situation is hopeless," but he was very harsh with me about the risks of drinking and the damage to the baby. He talked about the baby's brain beginning to form early in pregnancy and being very vulnerable from 15 days after conception, which overlaps with one of my three mini box nights.
I am keeping the baby and am planning on seeing another doctor if my insurance will cover it, to get a second opinion. But I'm wondering if anyone else has a similar experience with drinking during pregnancy who could tell me how it all turned out? My doctor left me feeling like I had most likely caused my child harm, but I know that this has to happen all the time, with women drinking before they know they are pregnant.
I just want to be prepared either way, so I don't feel attacked by guilt if something is wrong with the baby. Drinking helps me "feel better" about myself - with wine being my favorite escape, and I want to have the strength to deal with whatever happens and to stay sober.
I would usually drink 2 to 3 glasses of wine a night, but on a weekend night, I would go through 2 to 3 of those "mini boxes" of wine, up to 1500 ML over a night of drinking on my own, or through at least one 750 ML bottle on other weekend nights.
The pregnancy was not planned, so I didn't know anything was up until a few days after my missed period (so about 4 and half weeks to 5 weeks from my last period, about 2 and a half weeks to 3 weeks from when my doc thinks I conceived).
I live in a super duper conservative area, and my doctor is very pro-life. So, he would never say "you should have an abortion, the situation is hopeless," but he was very harsh with me about the risks of drinking and the damage to the baby. He talked about the baby's brain beginning to form early in pregnancy and being very vulnerable from 15 days after conception, which overlaps with one of my three mini box nights.
I am keeping the baby and am planning on seeing another doctor if my insurance will cover it, to get a second opinion. But I'm wondering if anyone else has a similar experience with drinking during pregnancy who could tell me how it all turned out? My doctor left me feeling like I had most likely caused my child harm, but I know that this has to happen all the time, with women drinking before they know they are pregnant.
I just want to be prepared either way, so I don't feel attacked by guilt if something is wrong with the baby. Drinking helps me "feel better" about myself - with wine being my favorite escape, and I want to have the strength to deal with whatever happens and to stay sober.
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