Pregnant drinking can affect fertility in offspring

Women who drink during pregnancy may be affecting the future fertility of their sons.

As a follow up to the “Healthy Habits for Two” study performed in the mid-1980s, Danish researchers have examined the sperm counts of 347 young men whose mothers participated in the study. At the time, the women completed questionnaires about their lifestyle habits while they were pregnant. This included their consumption of beer, wine, and spirits. It was determined that the sons of mothers who consumed an average of 4.5 alcoholic drinks per week during pregnancy had sperm concentration of 25 million per milliliter, which is 32% lower than the sons of mothers who consumed less than one drink per week. For the purposes of the study, one “drink” was defined as 12 grams of alcohol, roughly the equivalent of a 12-ounce beer or a small glass of wine.

The World Health Organization said last year that a sperm count of 15 million per milliliter is considered normal, so it would seem that the men who participated in this study don’t have anything to worry about. Still, a lower sperm count does decrease fertility and the chances of conception.

Cecilia Ramlau-Hansen, a senior researcher at the Aarhus University Hospital’s of Occupational Medicine, has said that the link between alcohol consumption in pregnant women and the decreased sperm count in their offspring is merely an association, and that there is no proof that alcohol is to blame. Still, she did say that the finding warrants further study.