How does alcohol consumption affect men and women’s abilities to conceive a baby?
Background:
There is some evidence to suggest that Americans are drinking more alcohol in the last few years. Both men and women are drinking more. We would like to explore whether moderate amount of drinking or heavy drinking can affect one’s ability to conceive. If there are any possibilities of pregnancy, a woman should abstain from drinking any alcohol at all.
Some questions this article will attempt to answer include:
1)how much drinking is too much if you would like to conceive?
2)Does alcohol affects my chance of conceiving at all?
3)Is there a difference between men and women, in terms of optimal alcohol intake, if any, if I would like to conceive?
4)If I do not drink at all, am I at an advantage in terms of conceiving a baby?
Analysis:
According to a NIH study, there is a decreased chance of pregnancy if a man drinks more than 20 drinks per week. The same study indicates that there is a decreased chance of pregnancy if a woman drinks more than 10 drinks per week.
The reasons behind heavy drinking’s potential negative effect on pregnancy are different between men and women.
For a man, some studies on long-term, heavy alcohol use have reported reduced gonadotropin release, testicular atrophy, and decreased testosterone and sperm production. Reduced gonadotrophin release means reduced sex hormones such as testosterone. Testicular atrophy means the gradual shrinking of men’s testicles in size. It is worth repeating that heaving drinking means 20 drinks or more for a man. moderate amount of drinking means up to 2 drinks per day for a man.
Alcoholism is also associated with liver dysfunction, which can result in hormonal disturbances due to the inability to metabolize estrogens. A decrease in the quality of semen parameters has also been consistently documented in heavy consumers of alcohol, even with occasional azoospermia (meaning occasionally heavy drinking leads to no sperm or zero sperm in testicles). Furthermore, it has been well documented that alcohol abuse and acute intoxication are associated with sexual dysfunction, including issues with arousal and desire, as well as erectile and ejaculatory dysfunction, all of which could lead to difficulties conceiving if men are unable to have effective intercourse.
Interestingly, a cross-sectional study of over 8,000 men from the U.S. and Europe who were classified as low to moderate consumers of alcohol found no difference in semen parameters, and actually documented a linear increase in serum testosterone levels with increasing amounts of alcohol consumption. Several other studies have similarly shown no effect in semen parameters with moderate alcohol consumption. Therefore, men who drink heavily should be advised to decrease their alcohol intake. However, those who drink moderately should be counseled regarding alcohol consumption based on their overall health status, and not necessarily on reproductive health.
For a woman, heaving drinking may diminish her ovarian reserve and her fecundability. Fecundability is defined as the probability of achieving a pregnancy within one menstrual cycle or the ability to achieve a live birth from one cycle’s exposure to the potential of pregnancy. In other words, a woman who drinks heavily may have to try for more cycles/months, in order to achieve pregnancy than if she were to drink moderately. Moderate amount of drinking is defined as up to 1 drink per day for a woman.
On the other hand, the relationship between light to moderate alcohol use and female infertility has yet to be fully characterized. An 8-year cohort study of 18,555 women without a history of infertility who were attempting to conceive found no relationship between alcohol consumption and ovulatory dysfunction. Multiple other studies have found no relationship between moderate alcohol consumption and fecundability. A retrospective study of almost 40,000 pregnant women actually reported a shortened time to pregnancy in women who consumed a moderate amount of alcohol compared with those who did not drink at all.
Summary
There is no conclusive evidence in advising against no drinking or moderate amount of drinking for both men and woman. However, there is somewhat conclusive or conclusive evidence against heavy drinking for both men and women.
So how do men and women avoid heavy drinking? The editors of Eggschain are not experts in giving this advice. However, perhaps limiting the daily intake of alcohol to below 1 per day for woman and below 2 per day for a man, and/or limiting the number of days of alcohol consumption per week may be helpful.
1)how much drinking is too much if you would like to conceive?
Answer: 10 or more drinks per week for a woman. However, if there is any possibility of being pregnant, a woman should abstain from drinking any alcohol at all. 20 or more drinks per week for a man.
2)Does alcohol affects my chance of conceiving at all?
Answer: Yes. Heavy drinking decreases your ability to conceive.
3)Is there a difference between men and women, in terms of optimal alcohol intake, if any, if I would like to conceive?
Answer: Yes, please reference above.
4)If I do not drink at all, am I at an advantage in terms of conceiving a baby?
Answer: Not necessarily, there is some non-conclusive evidence that, on an aggregate level, moderate amount of drinking can shorten time to pregnancy. But life style choices are individuals’ choices.
Reference:
Women’s Problem Drinking Is Catching Up to Men’s – WSJ
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5504800/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1142486/
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/22525-gonadotropin-releasing-hormone
Disclaimer: This article does not constitute medical advice. Please consult your doctor for your specific situation. Lifestyle choices are individuals’ choices.
It is written by Eggschain editors, and is medically reviewed by Hugh Taylor, MD, the Anita O’Keeffe Young Professor and Chair, Department of Obstetrics Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at Yale School of Medicine and Chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Yale-New Haven Hospital. He is also Professor of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental biology at Yale University.
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