Contents:
- Medical Video: Alcohol Is Ruining Your Sperm!
- Effect of alcohol on female fertility
- Effect of alcohol on male fertility
- How alcohol affects fertility in the future
- How alcohol affects a baby if taken by a pregnant woman
- Tips to stop drinking alcohol
Medical Video: Alcohol Is Ruining Your Sperm!
A study was conducted by examining alcohol consumption of men and women who were undergoing fertility therapy. This study started from one year before therapy, until during fertility treatment. As a result, alcohol consumption in both men and women reduces the chances of a baby being born healthy, and increases the risk of miscarriage.
Effect of alcohol on female fertility
Babies grow quickly in the first weeks of pregnancy, even before the prospective mother knows that she is pregnant. Some studies show that moderate levels of alcohol can increase the likelihood of miscarriage.
Experts have not yet determined safe levels of alcohol for pregnant women, and they also do not know whether or how babies differ in their sensitivity and reaction to alcohol. However, because the harmful effects of alcohol during pregnancy are known, women who are trying to get pregnant and those who are already pregnant may have to play safe and avoid all alcoholic beverages.
If you are trying to get pregnant, the most important thing is that you don't drink alcohol during the second half of your cycle, after you ovulate, because that's when you're likely to get pregnant. If you experience menstruation, it's okay if you drink a few glasses of wine during the first half of your cycle while you wait to ovulate again.
Effect of alcohol on male fertility
Not only the fertility of women affected by alcohol. Excessive alcohol reduces testosterone levels and the quality and quantity of sperm in men. Alcohol can also reduce libido and cause impotence.
If a man is a heavy drinker, this can really reduce the chances of a couple getting pregnant. However, if you reduce your drink, your fertility can return to normal.The impact of alcohol on male fertility is something that can be felt by his partner every day.
How alcohol affects fertility in the future
Most of the effects of alcohol on the reproductive system are temporary, and the reproductive system returns to normal when you stop drinking. However, continuing to drink regularly over the lowest risk guidelines from the government can cause serious fertility problems for both men and women. This includes drinking a lot in the late teens and early twenties.
In men, excessive long-term alcohol consumption can cause testosterone deficiency and shrink testicles. This can cause impotence, infertility, breast growth, loss of facial and body hair, and growth around the pelvis.
Women who are heavy drinkers can stop menstruating or experience premature menopause. Heavy drinkers who become pregnant are more likely to experience a miscarriage.
How alcohol affects a baby if taken by a pregnant woman
If you drink during pregnancy, alcohol will be channeled to your unborn baby, penetrating the placenta to the fetus through the bloodstream. Your baby's unborn heart is not fully formed, so he cannot metabolize (break down) alcohol quickly enough.
At this stage, the baby has a high blood alcohol concentration. Therefore, it becomes deprived of oxygen and nutrients that the brain and organs need to grow properly. This can affect baby's development, cause facial defects, poor memory or short attention spans and mental health problems, such as alcohol or drug addiction. Such problems are called fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), a collective term for alcohol-related lifetime conditions caused by exposure to alcohol before birth.
Miscarriage, stillbirth, premature birth, and less birth weight are other conditions associated with binge drinking the mother — consuming more than six glasses at a time.
Tips to stop drinking alcohol
Here are some ways to control your drinking habits if you try to get pregnant.
- Start slowly. If you try to get pregnant, try to reduce the amount of alcohol you drink every day, and then try to go on several alcohol-free days a week.
- Search for support. Ask your partner to help you reduce the alcohol they drink too. If you try to get pregnant, this is important because drinking alcohol interferes with sperm count and heavy drinking habits can cause temporary impotence.
Hello Health Group does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
