Should you drink alcohol during the "two week wait"?

The time between your ovulation and the expected date of your menstruation is often referred to as the "two week wait", or 2WW, in online fertility speak. If you conceived, this is the time during which your fertilized egg starts implanting itself into the uterine lining and cells are dividing and forming your future baby at a surprising speed. This is the time during which you might be pregnant, but you don't know it yet. Should you avoid alcohol during this time, or is it OK to have a glass or two?

The "rules" surrounding alcohol and trying to get pregnant are much the same as those surrounding actual pregnancy. This is even more true during that "two week wait" or the luteal phase of your menstrual cycle when you could be pregnant, or might not be. If you are trying to conceive and would like to enjoy a glass of wine or two once in a while, the first half of your cycle the one before you ovulate is a much better time to drink. Drinking a lot of alcohol can affect your fertility, but a glass or two when you actually know you are not currently pregnant is a safe bet.

Now, if you were not actually trying to conceive and later find out you are pregnant and realize you have consumed alcohol while you were expecting, that is a different matter. You can't take safety measures for your growing baby if you had no idea that he or she was there. But if you are trying to get pregnant and know that you might have conceived, avoiding alcohol is probably a good idea. Of course, different people have quite different views on this matter. Would you like to read more? Also see drinking alcohol in pregnancy yes or no?