Alcohol ‘’kills’’ fertility
Alcohol practically ‘’kills’’ fertility, or at least that is what collective data from multiple studies on alcohol and fertility indicate so.
Alcohol can dramatically impact both male and female reproductive system. It has been found that, in men, alcohol negatively affect major male sex hormones such as testosterone as well as the quality of the sperm. In fact, long term abuse of alcohol can eventually cause male hypogonadism and sterility.
Alcohol effects are equally great on the female reproductive system. Excessive alcohol consumption is related to decreased fertility in women and in some cases it could even cause sterility. It appears that alcohol disrupts the egg maturation process, inhibits ovulation, blastocyst development and womb implantation. Therefore, it’s no surprise that even women who consume as little as 5 drinks per week or less have their fertility decreased, according to research.
However, it’s not only natural conception that can be hindered by alcohol but assisted conception as well. According to a recent study out of Harvard medical school, alcohol dramatically decreases chances of a successful IVF outcome. Study findings suggest that even small amounts of alcohol can negatively affect success rates of an IVF cycle.
Researchers reported that, for women, pregnancy chances started to go downhill when they consumed six units of alcohol per week which roughly corresponds to 2 large glasses of wine or 3 glasses of beer. In fact, the greatest drop of pregnancy chances was observed among women who consumed white wine regularly. Specifically, 2-3 large glasses of wine per week can decrease success rates by 24%.
On the other hand, women whose men where daily drinking beer had 30% less chance to conceive a child, while IVF success rates decreased by 38%.
So, study results are clear, if you want a baby you should definitely give up on alcohol, either a woman or a man, in order to increase your fertility and pregnancy chances.
The truth is there are a number of things that can cause infertility and are to blame for not achieving pregnancy, either naturally or through IVF. Yet for many of them people can do nothing about. When it comes to alcohol though, they definitely can.
