Alcohol Abuse and Fertility
We Have Notions About the Romantic Role Alcohol Plays in Conception.
As a society, we have notions about the romantic role alcohol plays in conception. In fact, when we think about making babies, drinking champagne
during a candle-lit meal for two tends to come to mind. Still, there is enough
well-documented evidence for us to sit up and notice that drinking during
pregnancy can have an adverse effect on a developing fetus. It's probably best
to give the champagne a rest.
We know that pregnant women shouldn't drink, but the fact that alcohol
can harm male fertility is little known. The truth of the matter is that men
who drink a lot of alcoholic beverages or engage in binge drinking, defined as
four or more drinks a day, tend to have serious difficulties with their
fertility. For one thing, alcoholics often have erectile dysfunction which is
the inability to achieve and maintain an erection. Also, because alcohol can
cause liver damage, alcoholics often have higher than normal levels of estrogen
in their bodies, which has the effect of suppressing the production of sperm.
In addition to these issues, alcohol abuse has been associated with inadequate
functioning of the testes, reduced testosterone, abnormal sperm, lowered sperm
count, and low sex drive.
Think About Cutting Back on the Amount of Alcohol You Drink.
But even if you're not a heavy drinker, you should think about cutting
back on the amount of alcohol you drink. While no proper studies have been
carried out on the effect of moderate alcohol consumption on male fertility, it
makes sense that regular alcohol consumption could be a factor in male
fertility as well. This carries more weight when one considers that there have
been studies done on moderate alcohol consumption in women and the effect it
has had on their fertility. Those studies show that moderate drinking, between
one and five drinks a week, can impair female fertility.
As for chronic excessive alcohol intake in women, there is a proven link
between this kind of drinking to problem pregnancies and menstrual disorders. In
one Danish study, only sixty-one percent of women who consume one to five
drinks per week were able to conceive, whereas, thirty-four percent of women
who consumed ten or more drinks per week managed to conceive. Others studies
show a correlation between heavy, chronic drinking to inadequate function of
the ovaries, cessation of menstrual periods, irregular periods, and anovulatory
menstruation. Heavy drinking can also cause early menopause, increases the risk
of miscarriage, and has a negative impact on libido.
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