Drinking a large glass of wine each night damages fertility, study shows (Excerpt)
Women could be harming their chance of having a baby by drinking too much
Source: The Telegraph
Sarah Knapton, Science Editor
31 August 2016
Researchers found that the chance of becoming pregnant within 12 months drops by 18 per cent for those who regularly drink around 240ml of wine a night, the equivalent of a large glass, two bottles or beer, or two shots of spirits.
Current NHS guidelines suggest that women should not drink if they are trying to conceive but there has been little evidence to show what level of alcohol makes a difference.
“If a couple are experiencing difficulty in conceiving, it makes sense for both partners to cut down on their alcohol intake”Annie Britton, University College London
Danish researchers looked at more than 6,000 women aged between 21 and 45 who had tried to get pregnant for a year and matched the result against drinking levels.
In women who drank 14 or more servings of alcohol a week – the equivalent of seven large glasses of wine – the chance of conceiving dropped by 18 per cent.
It means that one in five women who would otherwise have got pregnant failed to conceive because they drank too much.
Lead author Ellen Mikkelsen of Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark said: “For many women of reproductive age, alcohol consumption is an integral part of their lifestyle.
“In this prospective study of women trying to conceive, consumption of the highest amount of alcohol was associated with an decrease in fecundability compared with no alcohol consumption.”
The level at which is begins to impact fertility is around two glasses more than current NHS recommendations of 14 units a week, where a unit is the equivalent of around 87ml of wine.
However there was no impact for women who drank less.
Experts in Britain said that study showed that drinking occasionally was unlikely to impact on pregnancy.
Annie Britton, of University College London, said the results offer reassurances to couples trying to get pregnant and suggests that “total abstinence may not be necessary to maximise conception rates” because “if alcohol is consumed moderately, it seems that this may not affect fertility.”
“It would be wise to avoid binge drinking, both for the potential disruption to menstrual cycles and also for the potential harm to a baby during early pregnancy,” she added.
“If a couple are experiencing difficulty in conceiving, it makes sense for both partners to cut down on their alcohol intake.”
The research was published in the BMJ.