Alcohol/Medication and sexually active women?

[psychologist101]

i posted earlier abouy my hubby getting into med school, so we decided to have a little party get together with my parents and some of his friends. my husband broke out the Chateau Haut Brion Pessac-Leognan 1982 bottle (500$ a pop) he was saving for special occasions.

now that is gooooood wine. i had about 2 glasses, and my mom had the nerve to say to me “why are you drinking? dont you realize that you could be hurting your baby if you are pregnant? you dont want to hurt that baby you dont know about yet do you?”

she wants grandchildren so badly, its getting annoying. we are practicing NFP, but she kept saying to me that women who could be pregnant shouldnt be drinking alcohol or doing anything that can harm the baby. that includes sexually active women because they can get pregnant without knowing, have alcohol, and then the child dies.

her annoyingness aside, what is the consensus on having very fine, (oh so fine) wine when me and my husband are sexually active? if i were a week pregnant or so and had that alcohol, then the embryo possibly could be harmed. im not trying to get pregnant, but does a woman have to get rid of every single thing in her life that could harm a child that might not even be there?

what about my Allegra for my allergies? when i was presribed it, the doctor asked me if i was pregnant. so should i stop taking it because it can harm a child that i MIGHT have because i am sexually active? if that is true, then all sexually active women would have to eliminate so many daily things from their diet and medicine cabinet.

im confused about this issue. does it mean just because i have a sexual relationship with my husband, i have to stop having alcohol and/or certain medications?

 

[beckyann2597]

psychologist101:

she wants grandchildren so badly, its getting annoying. we are practicing NFP, but she kept saying to me that women who could be pregnant shouldnt be drinking alcohol or doing anything that can harm the baby. that includes sexually active women because they can get pregnant without knowing, have alcohol, and then the child dies.

It won’t kill the baby. What could happen is that if you are an alcoholic you could harm the baby and cause FAS, but a couple glasses of wine will not do it. Don’t worry about it. Your mother doesn’t know what she’s talking about.

psychologist101:

her annoyingness aside, what is the consensus on having very fine, (oh so fine) wine when me and my husband are sexually active? if i were a week pregnant or so and had that alcohol, then the embryo possibly could be harmed. im not trying to get pregnant, but does a woman have to get rid of every single thing in her life that could harm a child that might not even be there?

what about my Allegra for my allergies? when i was presribed it, the doctor asked me if i was pregnant. so should i stop taking it because it can harm a child that i MIGHT have because i am sexually active? if that is true, then all sexually active women would have to eliminate so many daily things from their diet and medicine cabinet.

im confused about this issue. does it mean just because i have a sexual relationship with my husband, i have to stop having alcohol and/or certain medications?

Keep on living as usual. If you miss a period call your Dr and ask what you should stop. More things are allowed than you may realize.

 

[1ke]

Your mother has grandbaby-fever. One of its symptoms is complete irrationality.

Certainly you should not drink or use medications that can harm a child. But, because you are using NFP, you know when you are fertile and when you are not. You would also know much earlier than most women were you to become pregnant. So, you would have plenty of time to stop taking any medications that could be harmful.

What you should to is take a good multivitamin and folic acid. Other than that, enjoy your life.

 

[Flopfoot]

One big problem with alcohol is that a developing embryo doesn’t have the right enzymes in the liver (or a fully developed liver) to be able to process the alcohol. So it stays in your baby’s body longer than it stays in your body.
However, if you don’t drink (or use dangerous medication) while you know you are pregnant, and it’s just the first 2 or so weeks that you are worried about when you don’t know, then it’s really only dangerous if you are a heavy drinker. 1 or 2 glasses of wine should be no problem.
And if you’re practicing NFP, and then get pregnant, I don’t think alcohol is your biggest worry anyway (-:

 

[BlindSheep]

Before implantation at about 1 week, it won’t affect the baby. So if you want to be on the safe side, you could avoid alcohol in the last week of your cycle, after the possible baby would implant; the other three weeks should be OK.