These could be nine long months for her in more ways than one!

When a woman becomes pregnant, alcoholic beverages are off the table. Alcohol, of course, goes straight to the baby’s system via the umbilical cord and can cause damaging development issues, birth defects, and worse. But as the husband or life partner, that doesn’t necessarily mean your consumption has to end too!

Naturally, if your wife enjoyed a good glass of wine or a cocktail pre-pregnancy, then you drinking openly in front of her now might cause some distress in the relationship. How dare you get to go off and have fun while she’s carrying a baby and can’t join in! Same goes for a roller coaster—are you gonna go for a fun ride and leave her to take video from the ground? You gotta think about her feelings first.

Tips for Drinking in Front of Your Pregnant Partner

So, how can you continue to drink alcohol in front of your wife during her pregnancy without upsetting her or being overcome with guilt?

The best starting place, before getting too creative, is a trial run. Maybe she doesn’t give a crap! See how she reacts. If you want to be real considerate, you could even just begin by asking if she’s cool with you drinking in front of her. Hopefully she says yes and it’s case closed! If not, well, consider some of these other steps.

• Drink now, apologize later. “Oh, sorry, how inconsiderate of me!”
• If in a social setting, first turn down any offers for alcohol. “No beer for me, thanks. It would be rude since my pregnant wife can’t drink anything.” Such thoughtfulness is likely to make her say “oh, that’s sweet, but you go ahead.”
• If in a private setting, do something similar except announce to yourself before reaching for a beer. “Man, I could really go for a beer right now… but I better not, it would be rude. If you can’t drink, I can’t drink.” Again, the hope here is that she is touched by the thought and just tells you to go ahead.
• Consider her favorite drinks off-limits and stick only to stuff that she wouldn’t like anyway. “Mmm, nothing like a peaty Scotch after a long day’s work!” She might say “Ew, I hate Scotch,” leaving you free to consume at will!
• Offer your wife a taste of whatever you’re drinking. One little sip shouldn’t hurt anything.
• Act as if you’re not enjoying your drink. Who would be jealous of something so gross?
• Perhaps the best solution, though, is to repay her in some way for allowing you to drink your beer free of guilt. Whether you’re rubbing her swollen feet or scrubbing the bathroom floor, you’ve got to earn it! “Hey, you can drink a case of beer for all I care, as long as that laundry is folded!”
• If all else fails and you’ve just gotta have it, hide your booze in plain sight from your partner! While such activity might eventually get you in trouble, pouring some bourbon in your can of Coke would be virtually undetectable. What they don’t know can’t hurt them, right?

It should go without saying, of course, that you’d better be sober as a bird the day your wife goes into labor. If you’re required to drive her to the hospital for delivery, you must be able to carry out the task!

My Hot Take

My wife is currently almost seven months pregnant with our second child, and pre-pregnancy, she enjoyed an adult beverage or two. With our first kid, I actually adhered to tip #4 above, which was only drinking things she didn’t like. That meant a lot of cheap bottom-shelf whiskey like Cabin Still. Now, I think we’re past me having to be discrete or sensitive to the issue. I don’t sit there flaunting it and rubbing it in that she can’t join me, but I also don’t ask permission or anything! She doesn’t seem too upset by any of it.