Can you drink alcohol-free beer and wine when pregnant?
Hannah Weiss
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Find out if it's safe to drink alcohol-free beer and wine during pregnancy. Plus, precautions to take to keep you and your baby healthy.
The official advice on whether you can drink alcohol-free beer and wine in pregnancy
Alcohol-free drinks, including beer and wine, may be safe to enjoy while you're pregnant. Always check the alcohol content when choosing your drink.
The NHS advises that if you're pregnant or trying for a baby, the safest approach is not to drink any alcohol at all. This includes beer and lager as well as wine and spirits.
What about alcohol-free drinks?
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If you enjoy having a beer with friends or a glass of wine with dinner, you could try an alcohol-free option. However it's important to always check the label to ensure there's absolutely no alcohol in your drink of choice. Look for the alcohol by volume level – you want one that says 0.0% ABV.
In the UK, drinks that are labelled as "alcohol free" could have up to 0.05% ABV, which means they may still contain traces of alcohol. Similarly, "de-alcoholised" drinks could contain up to 0.5% ABV – this is 10 times stronger than "alcohol free" drinks.
In other parts of the world, like the US and Europe, "alcohol free" drinks may have an ABV level of up to 0.5%. This is why it's best to be cautious and check the percentage first to find out whether your drink is really alcohol-free.
It may take a bit of trial and error to find an alcohol-free beer or wine that you enjoy. There's a lot of variety out there, so try a few different 0.0% ABV drinks until you find one that works for you.
Why can't I have alcohol in pregnancy?
The Chief Medical Officers for the UK strongly advise that you avoid any alcohol while you're pregnant. This is because experts are uncertain how much alcohol, if any, is safe to drink.
When you drink alcohol, it passes through the placenta to your baby. Your growing baby is unable to process alcohol, because the liver is one of the last organs to develop, and won't mature until the later stages of your pregnancy.
This means that drinking alcohol during pregnancy could have a serious impact on your baby's development. Drinking alcohol can increase the risk of miscarriage, low birthweight and premature birth. Research also suggests that drinking when pregnant can lead to behavioural and learning difficulties in your child as they grow.
If you're worried about cutting out alcohol, talk to your midwife, who will be able to offer advice and support.
Pregnancy-safe drink recipes
If you're cutting out alcohol, why not try these pregnancy-safe drinks?
- Elderflower fizz
- Berry spring cooler
- Summer sparkle mocktail
- Avocado and banana smoothie
- Glowing mojo-ito green monster
The Day-by-Day Pregnancy Book: Count Down Your Pregnancy Day by Day by Dr Maggie Blott is packed full of advice from a team of experts to help guide you through your pregnancy from conception to birth. See more details here at Amazon.
Looking for more pregnancy diet info? Check out our articles below, or swap tips with other mums-to-be in our forum.
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