Why is it seen as a criminal offense to have a very occasional glass of wine if you're pregnant?

I've asked similar questions. Of course, you get the person saying "even one drink can cause FAS!" Yeah -- right.

And the person saying "because you're giving your baby a beer too!" Interesting how something so tiny is drinking the whole thing without leaving any for the poor mum...

You might enjoy

"Wine and Pregnancy ? Lies That Women Are Told"
http://dovercanyon.typepad.com/women_win...

Note "Dr. Michael Samuels of New York City's Doctor's Hospital says that the data has been "turned around for the purpose of frightening women"" -- I think that sums it up pretty well.

& "Wine and The Expecting Mother"
http://www.stratsplace.com/rogov/wine_ex...

"...conclusion is that "the only risk free pregnancy is one that is meant less to benefit the baby than to imprison the mother in anxiety and self-reproach". "

Indeed. Older women must be howling with laughter at all the bullsh!t thrown at pregnant women nowadays. I place a great deal of blame on "What to Expect When You're Expecting." Have a miserable pregnancy; eat baked sweet potatoes when craving French fries, and deliver in the lithotomy position with as many interventions as possible, and DON'T QUESTION ANYTHING! You can see its effects in a lot of the Q&A here: 'if the doctor said it's necessary, then it is.' Period.

But I'm getting off topic. From
http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/FetalAl...

""One drink can hurt your foetus," a mass media campaign in the province of Quebec, was dropped after a number of women who had consumed a single drink while pregnant, often before realizing they were expectant, began demanding abortions."

You can chalk a lot of it up to misleading public service announcements, and people's blind acceptance of same.

And possibly also thalidomide &c -- people are, reasonably, pretty terrified of birth defects. That a lot of these things are dose-dependent doesn't enter into the hysteria, though. There's an awful lot of reproach, too. If somebody comes on here and says "OMG, I just found out I'm pregnant, and I went to a party last week and drank," they're told they're fine. If they ask "Can I have a glass of wine a week now that I'm pregnant?" they're heaped with insults and told they'll be giving birth to a severely handicapped child.

And poor research. I was disgusted to find that pretty much every asthma inhaler is 'pregnancy category C' -- viz, untested. How hard would it be to do a study on drugs so commonly and consistently used that just about nobody is going to stop using while pregnant?

Some holier-than-thou undoubtedly enters into it. If I've thrown out my beer (and (pasteurized) soft cheese, and carefully prepared sushi), I'm probably going to be pretty bitter about people who don't live a puritan lifestyle along with me.

Good question.

I think it is france that encourages a glass of wine... but yes people get judgemental and look down on it because there is so much Fetal Alcohol Syndrome around these days

My OB said it was perfectly ok to have up to one glass of wine per day which I thought was crazy, but I did have an occasional glass during my pregnancy and my son was PERFECT.

But to answer your question of "why?"...because people are judgemental idiots. If you want to have a glass of wine do it at home unless you want to deal with the dissapproving stares of complete strangers who should be minding their own business.

actually a glass of wine is not bad for you or the baby i was actually encouraged to have one a week, my aunt drank wine when she was prego and so did the rest of my family and everyone i mean everyone turned out fine.

no low birth weights or afs or anything like that so if you want to drink a glass of wine go for it i do

I felt the same way when I was pregnant. My Obgyn said an occasional glass of wine was not harmful, however if I had a glass in public people looked at me like I was drinking Drain-o. Here's what I did. I blew it off and went about my business. I also went on to have a perfect little girl.

We are still learning about the effects of alcohol on a fetus. While an occasional glass of wine after the 3rd trimester may be safe for some women, it may not be safe for others. As yet, there is no "safe" amount that has been officially established for every woman. The public is behind in current information and this is how it usually is for most things. As the public catches up, you will see a gradual change in attitude.

Because our medical research cannot tell exactly how much alcohol will affect a fetus, the rule of thumb is to avoid all alcohol during pregnancy to err on the side of caution. When we see a pregnant woman drinking, our initial thought is that she is being defiant of general knowledge and is putting the life of her unborn child in danger.

An occasional glass of wine is fine. I think the PSAs out there have put more in the minds of the public so that women who are pregnant don't go out and binge drink. Most doctors will tell you that it is okay to drink a glass of red wine. It helps calm the nerves and thin the blood. People who have never been pregnant (men included) don't understand that being pregnant can be stressful. You're not allowed to take anything for your nerves anyway.

Hard liquor should be avoided all together.