Select Page

This is the first post in a new series on Organic Baby Atlanta: True Confessions Tuesday. Although I try to live and raise my kids in a healthy, organic, sustainable way, I don’t always succeed. Sometimes, I fail miserably. These are my confessions of the ways I’m not an organic mom. 

So, here’s my confession for the week: I’ve been drinking during this pregnancy. Yes, I mean alcohol. Not a lot, mind–I have actually never gotten drunk in my life (even when I was younger I had this weird thing where I’d fall asleep after one or two beers, so I could never stay awake long enough to, you know, actually get drunk)–but yes, I’ve had a glass of wine while I was pregnant.

But here’s what I feel even more guilty about drinking: Diet Coke. Caffeine is bad enough–although my midwife told me that if I was getting caffeine headaches then one cup of organic coffee a day was ok as long as I was trying to cut back–but Diet Coke? Even aside from the long-standing controversy over artificial sweeteners (and no, I’m not convinced that aspartame is safe, despite the FDA’s reassurances), there are plenty of other ingredients–like artificial food coloring and potassium benzoate–that make me worry. Sure, the experts say it’s safe. But they used to say that about x-rays during pregnancy too.

Here’s what’s really strange about all this to me: lots of people are shocked that I would even consider drinking alcohol while pregnant, but very few even blink an eye at Diet Coke. Or coffee, for that matter. I can order endless refills of diet soda at a restaurant without a glance from the waiter, but just watch their reactions if a pregnant woman orders a glass of wine. I think that’s weird. All those chemicals in sodas scare me a lot more than a half a glass of alcohol a week.

What about you? Which do you think is worse to drink when you’re pregnant?