Wine???

[swtpesq]

I'm just wondering if there is any consensus about drinking wine at this stage in the game...

I seem to have read a few things online that suggest drinking a glass of wine might help induce labor. But, a friend was once told by her OB to drink a glass of red wine at the end of her pregnancy in order to hold off labor (because the OB was going to be on vacation for the weekend).

Anyone have any more insight about this? I'd love to have a glass of wine with dinner tonight, but I won't do it if I think it's going to delay labor at all...that is certainly not something I want to do right now!

[pbreffe]

I have always been told that wine relaxes you so any contractions that are preterm or unproductive will stop... I had some wine last night... seemed to work for the contractions... till today anyways!

[katie9143]

my mw has told me several times that if i called her anytime before say midnight or 1 am she would most likely tell me to have a glass of wine, take a bath and then try to relax and get some sleep - this kinda led me to believe that it would be good as a relaxant in early labor....although she did not say it would stop it or anything like that....

[Grayson's Mom]

I was told that if you are actually in labor the glass of wine won't do anything. But if you are having false labor it will help relax you so that the false labor won't progress into actual labor.

[meggles]

Originally Posted by katie9143

my mw has told me several times that if i called her anytime before say midnight or 1 am she would most likely tell me to have a glass of wine, take a bath and then try to relax and get some sleep - this kinda led me to believe that it would be good as a relaxant in early labor....although she did not say it would stop it or anything like that....

:

[roadfamily6now]

well, I have never had false labor so I dont know about that.

I guess a small amount wont hurt anything but personally I would never drink any.

[Shenandoah]

I've heard the same thing about wine being a uterine relaxant - and actually experienced it myself. There is a women I know though who was having a home birth and when she went into labor the only other person around was her MIL, who was stressing her out big time. So the laboring mom locked herself in her bedroom waiting for her mw and doula and while she waited she had a large glass of wine. Her labor was 2.5 hours. Can't imagine the wine actually slowed her down. Maybe it just relaxed her enough that she was able to get on with business.

[meggles]

BTW~ I had several sips of wine last night and it was absolutely yummy (and didn't do anything to stop my BH, cervical twinges, or start labor).

[Tuwamare]

A small glass of wine actually can help stop contractions if they are not heading into real-let's-birth-this-baby contractions. I had a very small glass yesterday, since I started having some very painful contractions while out shopping. They were really pulling up on my cervix, and actually caused some change (I checked when I got home). So, I drank a very small glass of wine and laid down for a nap. Contractions slowly reduced in intensity and frequency, until I was back to my normal BH contractions for the rest of the evening. Since I'm only 35 weeks, I didn't want to surprise my husband with a new baby popping out so early... I hadn't even finished getting my birth stuff organized. Needless to say, it is organized now.

[beebs]

agreeing with all of the pp's, since wine is a relaxant i think it either 1) relaxes you enough to stop contractions if it's false labor, or 2) relaxes you enough to proceed w/ real labor, does that make any sense?

the only thing i think i've ever come across about wine (or any alcohol) stopping real labor is i think in "spiritual midwifery," something about stopping labor by getting the mom DRUNK, i.e. not just one glass of wine. but someone correct me if i'm totally wrong.

[MacKinnon]

Originally Posted by beebs

the only thing i think i've ever come across about wine (or any alcohol) stopping real labor is i think in "spiritual midwifery," something about stopping labor by getting the mom DRUNK, i.e. not just one glass of wine. but someone correct me if i'm totally wrong.

She does talk about the tanins (sp?) in vodka, I think? FWIW, my step mother was given alcohol in the hospital when she was in premature labor with one of my step sisters! She said she was totally drunk when they wheeled her off to deliver! : Can you imagine any doctor doing that now?

[bethwl]

Yep, alcohol is a sedative and will calm/relax you, so that if you're not having real, about-to-have-a-baby contractions, they would most likely go away. My midwives recommend that if you are feeling like you are in labor but are unsure or unable to relax that you take a warm bath, then have a glass of wine and see if the contractions keep coming regularly or slow/stop.

[JJ'sMom]

I cant decide..

A wee bit of wine is unlikely to do any noticable damage at this age. However, the human brain does not finish developing until the late teen and early twenties, so alcohol at any stage does *interfere* with deveolpment.:

There is a long and detailed thread about this in Birth and Beyond (I think its there.....)

[tannersmommy]

I have a question...does it matter if it is white or red wine? I'm not a fan of red, and if I end up needing to try this, I don't want to be doing something wrong.

[JJ'sMom]

I usually see red recommended, but I doubt that it really matters. The red wine actually has something in it that is good for your heart, so maybe that is why it is refered to more often.