Barman refuses to serve alcohol to a pregnant woman...
 

A mother-to-be has said she was left 'humiliated' after she was refused a small glass of wine because she is heavily pregnant.

Jane Hampson, 37, said she would usually enjoy one 125ml glass of red wine a week with a meal after reading research which suggested it was medically acceptable.

But the Deutsche Bank worker, who is overdue with her first baby, was left dumbfounded after a barman at Pi bar, in Liverpool, told her: 'Sorry, I can't serve you.'

When she asked him why, the bartender said: 'I refuse to have serving alcohol to pregnant women on my conscience.'

The exchange attracted the attention of other customers at the busy bar as Miss Hampson and her partner Alistair Townend, 37, asked for an explanation.

Miss Hampson said they eventually left the bar out of embarrassment and bought a glass of red wine elsewhere.

The NHS currently advises pregnant women should drink no more than one to two units of alcohol once or twice a week - the equivalent of a 125ml glass of wine.

As bar bosses today apologised for the snub, Miss Hampson, from Mossley Hill, Liverpool, said: 'I couldn’t believe it - it was so humiliating.

'There is no way I would endanger my unborn baby yet it was being insinuated that I was doing just that and being irresponsible.

'At the time the bar was packed and all the customers were looking over at us to see what all the commotion was about. We felt we had no choice but to leave because it was so embarrassing

'The fact I am pregnant was none of his business. I appreciate a bar’s management reserve the right not to serve customers but obviously I wasn’t drunk or misbehaving or under 18 - so he had no reason not to serve me.

'I am not some Vicky Pollard-type binge drinker. I have done extensive research on the effects of drinking alcohol when pregnant and the fact is there’s nothing wrong with having a small glass of wine every week.

'I have enjoyed a small glass of red wine with a meal once a week throughout my pregnancy but it’s not been every week

'I would describe myself as health-conscious. I have run two marathons in the past and I am not into filling my body with anything that shouldn’t be there.

'When you look at how much of an issue excess alcohol causes in this country, I really don’t feel that any establishment that chooses to profit from alcohol sales is in any position to judge anyone.'

The incident occurred after Miss Hampson decided to take a long walk with Mr Townend around Liverpool’s Sefton Park on Tuesday night. After their stroll the couple, who have been together for 10 months, headed to nearby Pi bar

Miss Hampson, who works as an intermediary business manager for Deutsche Bank and also runs her own website selling eco-friendly soaps and cosmetics, said: 'I asked the barman for a small glass of red wine and as soon as I said it I could see him pursing his lips as if taking a sharp intake of breath.

'I went to the toilet leaving Alistair at the bar and when I came back the barman came up to me and said he wouldn’t serve me because he couldn’t have serving a pregnant woman alcohol on his conscience. It was outrageous and embarrassing.

'We asked why but he wouldn’t budge. We went to another bar nearby and I drank a glass of wine there instead.'

She added: 'Throughout my pregnancy I have taken good care of myself and made the best choices for my baby. I eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day and make a fresh carrot, ginger and apple juice every morning.

'I don’t even use normal deodorant because I am concerned about using environmentally friendly and ethical products.

'I have read numerous articles about the effects of drinking alcohol when pregnant and I believe one small glass of wine once a week is not harmful to me or my baby.

'I had no alcohol during first 12 weeks of pregnancy apart from one glass of bubbly and one wine in that 12 week period and then, at most one glass a week, but not every week.

'It was usually with a nice meal out or on the odd occasion, like that Tuesday just after as long-a-walk as I could manage. The barman who refused to serve me was only in his 20s. It’s not up to him to decide what I should and shouldn’t be putting in my body

'I felt like asking whether he refuses to serve fat people pies, or whether the bar checks how much caffeine a woman has consumed that day before they serve her a cup of coffee.

'There is recent research that suggests baldness is linked to alcohol consumption, are they going to start measuring people’s hairlines before they serve them a pint?'

Ben Reynolds, area manager of Pi Bar, described the incident as an 'unfortunate misunderstanding'.

He said: 'I would first and foremost like to apologise to Ms Hampson for any upset or embarrassment caused.

'I can fully understand her grievances and can completely understand why she felt upset.

'I would like to state that we have no company policy on the serving or not serving of alcohol to pregnant people. Why would we? It’s none of our business.

'What occurred was simply the result of a junior member of staff making a mistake and getting his wires crossed.

'He is deeply sorry for upsetting Ms Hampson and assures me that he was not, as I fear she believes, making a judgment on her, but rather thought for some reason, despite his training, that licensing laws forbade the serving of alcohol to pregnant people.

'However I can understand, given the unfortunate way he appears to have said it, why Ms Hampson felt he was insinuating otherwise. I would very much like to get in contact with Ms Hampson to apologise directly.'

i don't blame him tbh

He did nothing wrong, she sounds like an overacting silly bint.

I wouldnt have served her either. What she does herself is none of my business but that doesn't mean I have to be a part of it... Bars almost always reserve the right to refuse service at the staffs discretion so she should just lump it.

"no evidence" that it harms? so?? Is that a good enough reason to do it? what is it with people and alcohol, that they feel the need to have a sneaky half glass no matter what? how about just... Wait? Just incase? surely it's a completely irrelevant optional indulgence, or it bloody should be.

good for him

Not his place to refuse her service when he knows none of the details, would be a different story if she was off her face drunk but she was only having a small glass with a meal, won't do any harm

Exactly.

I think he owes that unborn baby a drink!

you tell em' GG

:laugh:

As someone said it's the bars discretion. I don't personally agree with it I don't think one glass would do any harm. A shop refuses to sell me castor oil when I was pregnant but the same shop sold me 20 fags (for a friend).

I work at a bar and think I may have done the same. :idc:

One step nearer a nanny state.

If she had asked for a bottle of wine to herself then maybe he could have asked if it was wise.

I agree with the barman, it's general knowledge that pregnant women shouldn't be smoking or drinking. Only a pregnant woman is going to know that it's okay to have a small glass of wine every now and then (I didn't know that until I read this) and seeing as she's nine months pregnant it's not like the barman could ignore the fact she was pregnant. I would have done the exact same thing - I wouldn't want to be knowingly giving alcohol to a pregnant woman - how am I supposed to know this is her one and only drink of the week and that it's not damaging to an unborn child? I've heard of foetal alcohol syndrome, I haven't heard her wisdom that it's fine for a baby every now and then...

Basically think she's being massively hysterical over something that she must know that most people have been taught that smoking and drinking are bad for unborn children. Have your glass of wine at home. You're nearly about to give birth, I'm sure you can go another week or two without having wine in a bar/restaurant.

I do get what you're saying Zee but why is that his call to make? It is neither illegal or actually dangerous. I didn't drink whilst pregnant but that was my decision. Pregnancy should not allow others to judge you.

It's the barman's right to deny service, he had no way of knowing her drinking habits beforehand so he opted to make a decision. This story is pretty much open and shut as far as things go.

I would say that when you've gone out for a meal that's the logical time to have your weekly glass of wine though

Well, it's his call to make in the same way that it's his call to make if someone's had too many for their own well being - the circumstances are different but the reasoning is the same. He said he didn't want that on his conscience. I'm sure he'd rather know that he pissed off a pregnant woman than potentially caused damage to an unborn foetus. Like most others (especially men) I'm sure he thought that it was considered a no-no for women to drink when they're pregnant; I know that's what I would have done.

A bar is a private establishment and his refusal to serve her has absolutely nothing to do with a "nanny state", or the "state" at all. He was not legally obliged to refuse to serve her, he CHOSE to do so, and it is perfectly within his individual rights to do that.

My thoughts on it are - if a pregnant mother wants to risk her child's health (no matter how slight the risk) then that's her business... but that absolutely does not mean that I should feel obliged to help her do so.

"No evidence that it does any harm" is not the same as "it definitely does no harm". There's also very little evidence that it doesn't do any harm. Such things are almost impossible to measure with any degree of accuracy. I personally wouldn't take the risk (if I could get pregnant) and don't particularly understand anyone who would... there are necessary risks in life and then there are things like this. No one should "need" to drink, and if they do, they have much bigger problems to address. If it's just a case of her [i]fancying[/i[ a little wine to the potential detriment of her unborn child, then that's just straight up selfish parenting. Before the poor sap has even been popped out. What else is new :rolleyes:.

I think they guy was right in what he was doing, if he served her alcohol, he could have opened himself up to blame ect.

Yes, god forbid the poor woman should have to go without her weekly glass of wine for the aeons of her pregnancy.

I swear the world is actually mental.

Completely agree with him - good for him & welldone!!!

That's from her point of view - the barman sees a heavily pregnant woman asking for a glass of wine and immediately has alarm bells ringing. Bar staff hear all sorts of excuses for why a person "is fine to be drinking" and if they've decided they're not going to serve someone, that is up to them. I think perhaps she only feels humiliated because she has something to be ashamed of - that she can't abstain from alcohol; and not because she was "humiliated" by being refused.

Agree with zee. If something were to happen to the baby (even non alcohol related, possibly...) he could feel extremely guilty and blame himself

I thought the title said batman and i got really confused