Alcohol is perhaps the most socially accepted drug with consumption often seen as fundamental to all social gatherings, dining out, being on holidays or just a daily ritual. Allow me to clarify – I am not opposed to alcohol consumption, but as with most things, the danger lies in the quantity and regularity. If you are considering starting a family, have experienced difficulty conceiving or early pregnancy loss, or just want to ensure you optimise your chances of conceiving and having a healthy baby, it may be best to avoid alcohol.
So if you consume alcohol regularly, consider the reasons ‘why’:
• What are the reasons I choose to drink?
• In what ways is alcohol a part of my life?
• How would I feel about not drinking at all at the next party I’m invited to?
• Do I associate drinking with smoking, eating, watching TV or other activities?
Research shows that even light drinking can reduce a woman’s chances of conceiving. If you have experienced any challenges regarding fertility, then perhaps consider avoiding alcohol during the pre-conception phase [and throughout pregnancy and while breastfeeding].
Can alcohol use affect fertility?
Emerging research suggests that alcohol use can have both short- and long-term effects of fertility.
• Light drinking (1-5 drinks a week) can reduce a woman’s chances of conceiving
• Long-term heavy drinking can cause adult women to have irregular periods or stop ovulating, cause periods to stop altogether or lead to early menopause
• Heavy drinkers who become pregnant are more likely to have miscarriages
• Heavy drinking or binge drinking can lead to vomiting and reduce the effectiveness of birth control pills.
One of the measures of female fertility still being used is assessing Anti-Mullerian Hormone of AMH. Binging on alcoholic drinks twice or more a week can lower AMH by 26%.
You don’t always know
You may not know that you are pregnant and continue to consume alcohol. According to one comprehensive research review, for each week a person consumes any amount of alcohol during the first five to 10 weeks of pregnancy, their risk of miscarriage rises by 8%. People who stop drinking near their missed period have a 37% greater risk of miscarriage compared to people who don’t use alcohol at all around conception.
Drinking Alcohol and IVF
If you’re trying to get pregnant through in vitro fertilization (IVF), there may be extra reason for you—and your partner—to pass on alcohol.
According to researchers, both females and males who have about five alcoholic drinks per week while undergoing fertility treatments are significantly less likely to have a successful birth compared to people who don’t drink at all during IVF.
Remember that everything you put into your body will affect how your body can function and this includes your hormones and reproductive capacity. All this information and much more in outlined in my book to help you understand these connections. If your goal is to have a healthy baby, please read my book so you can do the preparation (and remember to let your partner read it too).
1. Ahmad N, et al (2008). Canadian Addiction Survey (CAS): Focus on gender. Health Canada: Ottawa.
2. Best Start Resource Centre (2011). Is there a baby in your future – plan for it. Health Before Pregnancy Workbook. Available from: http://beststart.org/resources/preconception/index.html
3. K, Singh S, Vaughan B, Trussell J, Bankole A (2008). Estimates of contraceptive failure from the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth. Contraception, 77:10–21.
4. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, ‘Alcohol and Hormones’. In Alcohol Alert No. 261994.
5. Public Health Agency of Canada. (2005). Make every mother and child count. Report on maternal and child health in Canada. Available at: http://publications.gc.ca/collections/ Collection/H124-13-2005E.pdf.
6. Tina Kold, J., et al., Does moderate alcohol consumption affect fertility? Follow up study among couples planning first pregnancy. BMJ, 1998. 317(7157): p. 505-510.
7. Zieman M. Overview of contraception. Version 17.2. UpToDate 2009 June1, 2009. Available at: http://www.uptodate.com
8. Alcohol and Pregnancy. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. 2023.
9. Alcohol and fertility: How much is too much? Fertility Research and Practice. 2017.
