Do you enjoy a glass of wine with your supper or a beer with your barbecue? Can't imagine your day without a nightcap?
You probably already know that alcohol is off the menu once you have a baby on board. But do the same pregnancy prohibitions apply if you're trying to conceive?
Can you drink while you're trying to conceive?
Nearly three in four women continue to drink even as they're planning to get pregnant, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).[1] But the timing of conception isn't a precise science: It's not like you'll get a "stop drinking" bulletin from your body the second the sperm meets the egg.
And that's why the CDC and other experts recommend that all women who aren't using birth control, and especially those who are actively trying to get pregnant, abstain from drinking entirely.
Need another reason to skip the sauce? Heavy drinking can mess with your menstrual cycle, possibly putting a crimp in your conception plans.
If you choose to be on the safe side (always the best side when you're making a baby), you're better off abstaining from alcohol, or at least cutting back, when you're trying to conceive.
Risks of drinking alcohol when you're pregnant
Whilehard data on the dangers of light drinking during pregnancy is hard to come by (no researcher would potentially put a baby in harm's way in the name of science), doctor groups including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) along with the U.S. Surgeon General (who's responsible for the warning labels you see on every bottle of booze) recommend that expectant moms be total teetotalers.[2]
Studies do suggest that even moderate drinking during pregnancy can result in birth defects and potentially lifelong physical, mental and behavioral disabilities for a child, known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.
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Bottom line? Now that you're in baby-making mode, check out the mocktail section on the drink menu; many restaurants and bars serve them. Or shake up a few of your own house virgin mixes or spritzers.
And if you do decide to take an occasional sip or two of Merlot, do so with a side of food — that'll slow the absorption of alcohol into your system.
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