Posted on October 22, 2012
‘A little bit of what you fancy does you good.’
Unfortunately not always the case for those of you who are thinking about/trying to conceive. Alcohol can, in some cases, negatively affect your fertility.
There is so much conflicting advice out there with regards to alcohol and frustratingly it changes all the time! This gives rise to the many questions we get asked in practice…..How much should you should drink? How often? Is it affected by how much you weigh? What about if you drink alcohol with a meal? Red wine is good for you right?
Just thinking about it is enough to send you towards the bottle, never mind the stress that trying to conceive can induce. Just before you reach for that glass take time to ponder this:
Studies have shown that drinking alcohol may reduce your fertility by half. One study showed that women who drank fewer than 5 units of alcohol a week were twice as likely to conceive within 6 months compared with those who drank more.
Its diuretic action can cause valuable fertility nutrients such as zinc and folic acid to be excreted.
Research has shown that alcohol may interfere with the secretion of progesterone (the hormone that keeps pregnancy going) from the corpus luteum (egg capsule).
For men alcohol could cause abnormalities in the head of the sperm, preventing it from fertilising the egg.
There are many more worrying effects of alcohol on fertility and during clinics with our patients we educate what those are and give REALISTIC advice about how to cut out/reduce alcohol consumption.
Finally, as we hear often in practice, ‘but my friend drank like a fish and she fell pregnant straight away – why should I stop?’ some of you are probably thinking along similar lines. Bear in mind that no two people are the same, what works for one may not work for another. Your bodies although physiologically are similar, are truly unique. Your friend may have suffered terrible morning sickness during her pregnancy, you may not. Another friend may have heartburn and hemorrhoids, you may not!
This is why we tailor treatments for each single individual person we see. You are special and we embrace that!