To drink or not to drink?  That seems to be the question du jour.  There is quite a bit of controversy on whether it is safe to drink moderate amounts of alcohol during pregnancy, with a recent study igniting more press on the issue.   The study concluded that “significant effects of low to moderate alcohol consumption during pregnancy [were not observed] on executive functioning at the age of 5 years. Furthermore, only weak and no consistent associations between maternal binge drinking and executive functions were observed.”

Certainly in the USA, the majority of women believe and adhere to the “no drinking while pregnant” rule.  Women who are TTC, however, seem to be more diverse in their opinion on whether to drink during the TWW (the approximate two weeks between ovulation and when your period is due).  There are two basic schools of thought on drinking while TTC.

Drink Till It’s Pink – Those in the Drink Till It’s Pink crew drink until an actual BFP shows its face.  The thought behind this seems to be that (1) since implantation occurs toward the end of the two week wait, the fetus isn’t sharing any of what the mother consumes for at least a good portion of the TWW, and (2) many women didn’t know they were pregnant and drank to varying degrees and still had healthy babies.

Sober Till It’s Over – Those in the Sober Till It’s Over group abstain from drinking, during the entire TWW, if not the entire time they are TTC.  The thinking behind this seems to generally be (1) why risk it?, and (2) not drinking leads to being healthier generally and therefore, perhaps, more fertile.

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I fall somewhere in the shades of gray between these two camps.  Some of the books I read about preparing to TTC led me to believe that I should limit how much I drank generally while preparing to and actively TTC.  I’m not a huge drinker, but I do enjoy a glass or two of wine in the evening once or twice a week or the occasional happy hour.  Since I’m not slamming them back, I haven’t felt like I needed to reduce the overall quantity I drink.

Throughout the TWW, however, I’m a bit conflicted.  During our TWW while we were on vacation, I conveniently decided to be firmly in the Drink Till It’s Pink camp.  It didn’t make me feel guilty or concerned until the very end of the TWW when a potential fetus would have most certainly implanted.  This TWW, I feel the need to cut back even more from my usual consumption.  I fully intend to have one or two glasses of wine, but as a general principle, I’m trying to be a little closer to the Sober Till It’s Over camp.  I’m committed to generally reducing the amount I drink, but I’m not completely abstaining, either. Here’s why I’ve chosen to go with a hybrid of the two.

Reasons to not eliminate alcohol entirely:

(1) TWWs are a little stressful, and a glass of red wine helps me relax.  Considering that many OBGYNs feel it’s safe for a pregnant woman to drink an occasional glass of wine, I feel comfortable with a glass or two during the TWW.

(2)  I don’t want to change everything in my life “in case I’m pregnant” because I don’t know how long it will ultimately take to get knocked up.  It’s really easy to avoid plans (skiing at Christmas, planning an overseas vacation) “in case I’m pregnant.”  I would hate to have fertility issues and look back on a year or two of my life and feel like I put everything on hold and wasted opportunities to enjoy life.  I have definitely made some changes to my life in preparation for TTC, but I believe it’s all about balance.  So, for me, a drink now and then while TTC or in the TWW is something I choose to embrace.

(3) Red wine (my drink of choice) has a multitude of other health benefits, including heart health benefits, which is really important in our household.

Reasons to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed:

(1) It’s good practice for pregnancy!

(2) We have a lot of suspicious friends.  Every time I hesitate to order a drink, our friends ask if I’m pregnant.  Abstaining occasionally but then having a drink the next time will make it less suspicious when I choose a non-alcoholic drink when I am pregnant but not ready to let the cat out of the bag.

(3) Reducing alcohol reduces calories, which is helpful since we are trying to get healthy and lose wait while TTC.

So, I’ve landed in the middle of the Drink Till It’s Pink/Sober Till It’s Over debate.  Where did/do you fall in these schools of thought?