Is Mommy wine culture normalizing unhealthy drinking?

Excessive alcohol consumption and thinking you are drinking for fun to cope with motherhood can be a very dangerous path for many.

This blog will discuss what mommy wine culture is and how if affects you, why moms drink wine and why it is not normal to use alcohol to cope with motherhood.

What is Mommy wine culture and how does it affect you?

Mommy wine culture is this delusion that drinking and numbing your feelings through the challenges of motherhood will make everything okay.

I can’t tell you how many times I come across feeds on my Instagram and facebook all about how “mommy juice” is the solution and what a great thing “mommy wine culture” is. Addict or not, mind altering substances are NEVER the solution.

Of course, we are an addiction blog so we know there is going to be addiction issues related to “mommy wine culture” but let’s first state the obvious:

· Drinking every day is not healthy and increasing risks for so many things for women, including breast cancer and liver damage to name a few. During the pandemic Alochol Liver Disease (ALD) increased in women significantly

· When moms consume alcohol, kids aren’t getting their full attention

Why do Moms drink wine?

Moms drink wine as they think they are connecting with other moms that are “enjoying” wine. Motherhood is hard. I have been there and am still there. The younger years are extremely difficult where it can be so painful to find the time to shower yourself or get anything simple done and forget about self-care. I know for me that is when my alcohol use escalated to levels it had never reached. I just didn’t want to feel the hard feelings. I though I was failing at everything and wasn’t being a good mom. This feelings pushed me further into drinking and numbing which did in fact, make me not a good mom. I was not present and I didn’t show up for life. Six years later and I’m living an amazing life as a single mom to my two beautiful girls.

Is it normal for women to use alcohol to cope with motherhood?

It is not normal for anyone to use alcohol to cope with any situation. Drinking alcohol is numbing any feelings, good and bad and not allowing or the emotions to be processed properly.

I receive a lot of emails about clothing promotions and there are so many sporting “wine mom” and how glamours it is. It is marketing to have moms appear to be young at heart and oh so much fun, when in reality it becomes a coping tool and not a healthy one at that. How about sport a Sober Badass or Sober Bombshell tank? There’s a lot more honesty in that!

“Mommy wine culture” pressures moms to drink who may not normally partake. I know when I was in my alcoholism, I made sure everyone around me was consuming so I didn’t appear to have a problem. Other deeper problems that can come out of this marketing culture of “fun wine moms” are the following:

· Moms may have unresolved postpartum depression issues and consuming alcohol will only aggravate this challenge

· Moms are setting an example for their kids as kids learn from watching behaviors, not from what they are told

· It becomes a mask for functioning alcoholism

The wine will never help the problem or be the solution. What moms need is support, human connection and self love.