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    HelpfulCornStassa Edwards
    5/06/16 6:35pm

    Am I the only person that thinks your behavior is actually supposed to change when you’re pregnant and want to carry the child to term (meaning at some point it really isn’t going to be solely about mom and her body?)

    Maybe there shouldn’t be a law, but is the previous tutting based on any reasonable scientific data, at least for women in the first—say—six months of pregnancy?

    I’m also sympathetic to those evil bartenders, who refused service because they probably fear a lawsuit if a kid is born with deformities.

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      oneforburnandburnforallHelpfulCorn
      5/06/16 6:38pm

      I would say it’s cool if you think YOUR behavior should change when YOU get pregnant. I’d say it’s less cool if you think MY behavior should change when I get pregnant.

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      Buckylaw14HelpfulCorn
      5/06/16 6:45pm

      First she would have to prove that the bar owners/agents had or had reason to know that she was pregnant. Second, I’m not sure if there is any duty of care under common law with his area. Third, by barring women believed to be pregnant the law encourages discrimination/use of public places.

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    EasttoMidwestStassa Edwards
    5/06/16 6:58pm

    But seriously, folks, alcohol during pregnancy is no joke and should not be dismissed as moralistic hang wringing. There can be serious disruptions to the fetal development (especially in early pregnancy) and there’s no “safe” amount — every woman and every pregnancy is different.

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      rslwnEasttoMidwest
      5/06/16 7:11pm

      The whole “there’s no (proven) safe amount” line ignores that there are also amounts that are not proven dangerous, that almost certainly result in no harm to the fetus, but that existing guidelines forbid because nobody fucking knows any better.

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      beelogicalrslwn
      5/06/16 7:15pm

      Almost certainly no harm? It’s what you want to gamble with for sure, your unborn child.

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    JustCameToSayYoStassa Edwards
    5/06/16 6:33pm

    I am not sure if I’ll be having kids, but if I do, I’d probably abstain. The real question is, am I allowed to ban my partner from drinking alcohol for the 9 months that I can’t partake?

    My boyfriend said no and I told him that was okay but he wouldn’t be putting his ungrateful seed in me.

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      For SwedenJustCameToSayYo
      5/06/16 6:36pm

      The only time you should look in your partner’s glass is to make sure that they have enough. You don’t look in your partner’s bowl to see if they have as little as you.

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      one time i ate a salad without cheeseFor Sweden
      5/06/16 6:39pm

      FALSE. If I had a boyfriend I would be looking into his bowl to see if he had any more ice cream I could steal. >:(

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    kitteneyeStassa Edwards
    5/06/16 7:18pm

    The comments on Jez articles relating to drinking and pregnancy are always entertaining. Many other countries do not fully abstain from alcohol while pregnant. Most of our grandparents probably had some drinks while pregnant with our parents (and many of them smoked, which is probably much worse). At no other time in all of human history did people fully abstain while pregnant.

    Obviously, you should not be doing tequila shots or drinking in anything that remotely resembles excess. But a glass of wine every now and again is probably not going to do much harm.

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      KK4Bamakitteneye
      5/06/16 7:35pm

      Well, we in the good ole US of A can’t even get gender neutral bathrooms without an uproar. You think people aren’t going to pitch a damn fit if a pregnant woman wants a glass of wine with dinner? People here are judgmental assholes.

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      lillie, warrior queenkitteneye
      5/06/16 7:42pm

      Do you watch Call the Midwife? I wish I had a dollar for every pregnant woman they show who’s smoking. I'd be rich. Totally accurate though.

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    Colored FrancieStassa Edwards
    5/06/16 6:29pm

    There have been three pregnancy- or childbirth-related stories on Jezebel today (not counting the two about Blac Chyna’s pregnancy)...is that a Mother’s Day thing?

    (not complaining, just curious)

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      TampaBeeAtch (misplaced witty subname)Colored Francie
      5/06/16 6:36pm

      I too chalked up all the pregnancy/birth stories up to it being Mother’s Day. You were not the only one that was curious.

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      PorscheWidowColored Francie
      5/06/16 6:37pm

      I was just wondering the same thing...

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    VonQuesoStassa Edwards
    5/06/16 7:52pm

    As someone who is eight months pregnant, this article is SO REAL.

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      DontBeSuchaBoobPunchTinaVonQueso
      5/06/16 7:57pm

      OMG you’re eight months already? WHERE DID THE TIME GO?!?

      The Babybel isn’t far off now, then! Awesome!

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      VonQuesoDontBeSuchaBoobPunchTina
      5/06/16 8:02pm

      I KNOW RIGHT?!

      I haven’t been on Jez much, actually, while pregnant. It has nothing to do with this obnoxiously high risk stuff, either—it’s the fact that I have been busting my ass at work and it has been the semester from HELL (also nothing to do with the baby-bel). I’m so lucky.

      I’m just glad that being pregnant has been a relative breeze compared to work on my auto immune bullshit. Vive la June Queso!

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    catpooStassa Edwards
    5/06/16 7:17pm

    I am currently pregnant and have chosen not to drink at all (for my health as much as the baby’s) but damn does it sound good. I can’t wait to get my hands on an ice cold beer after I give birth.

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      acmeindustriescatpoo
      5/06/16 7:28pm

      When I was pregnant, I frequently craved a frosty beer. I found that the craving was satisfied with just a couple of sips, and I don’t think I ever actually finished a drink.

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      KK4Bamacatpoo
      5/06/16 7:36pm

      My friend was pregnant during football season and would drink non-alcoholic beer to curb her beer cravings.

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    kylpitStassa Edwards
    5/06/16 7:14pm

    My SO has fetal alcohol and her resulting learning disabilities continue to be an issue for her well into her late 20's. Her and her mother are estranged because of it. I am 100% for a woman’s right to choose what she does with her own body. If you are taking that child to term however, then at a certain point it’s not your body that you are exercising agency over.

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      ZhiBaChu: Awkward Detectivekylpit
      5/06/16 9:41pm

      That is unforunate. But FAS is NOT caused by a glass of wine in the third trimester. No one is recommending tossing back a bottle of Jack.

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      PrettyPrettyBunniPrincesskylpit
      5/07/16 12:40am

      It's always my body I’m exercising agency over.

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    AsitissuchsosuchshallitbeuntoyouStassa Edwards
    5/06/16 6:59pm

    It’s refreshing to see this. Once you get pregnant, people treat you as though you have the fragility of an 80-year-old and the naivete of an 8-year-old, and simply can’t make your own informed decisions about your body. Most doctors approve of moderate/infrequent drinking during pregnancy, and it’s really nobody’s concern except the woman and her doctor or midwife. I abstained from alcohol during pregnancy, but I received plenty of judgy glances at Starbucks, as well as people telling my husband I shouldn’t be drinking caffeine...not that anyone knew what was actually in my cup. But don’t worry, it’s all just practice for the judgement you will receive later when you leave the house with your baby and dare to bottle and/or breastfeed your child.

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      MrsTankToYouAsitissuchsosuchshallitbeuntoyou
      5/06/16 8:34pm

      Yaaaaaaaaaaay

      When I first found out I was pregnant - like 2 months - I told my friend when we were at a boba tea place and he nearly took my tea out of my hand. And I nearly cut him.

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      WuTangNameGeneratorAsitissuchsosuchshallitbeuntoyou
      5/06/16 9:55pm

      I got to where I was practically screaming at everyone in the coffee line “it’s one cup! I’m allowed one fucking cup a day!”

      The pregnant woman scrutiny is really stressful

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    Okscram3Stassa Edwards
    5/06/16 6:31pm

    For anyone interested, here’s a really great interview with Rebecca Kukla that explores a lot of the moral or political ramifications of the kind of informal policing of pregnant women’s actions this is meant to address.

    https://lucian.uchicago.edu/blogs/elucidat...

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      m-o-o-nthatspellsmoonOkscram3
      5/06/16 6:45pm

      Thanks for the link. I couldn’t listen to the discussion, but this definitely stood out. I’m not a mom, but damn this makes me want to hug mine and tell the world to fuck off

      “We place a heavy expectation on pregnant women that they be virtuosic risk managers; that they weigh the risks every decision they might make could pose to their unborn babies before making them. And yet they are often presented either with conflicting information, or with misinformation.”

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