According to a recent study, heavy drinking diminishes a woman’s odds of getting pregnant, and even moderate drinking during the second part of the menstrual cycle is connected with a lower possibility of conceiving.
Excess Alcohol Can Lower The Chances Of Women Getting Pregnant
The new study included 413 American women aged 19 to 41 who were recruited between 1990 and 1994 and monitored for up to 19 menstrual cycles. The findings were published in the journal Human Reproduction on June 8th.
Heavy drinking throughout any period of the menstrual cycle was shown to be substantially connected with a lower likelihood of conception compared to non-drinkers, according to research’s main author Kira Taylor in a journal press release. This is significant because some women who are attempting to conceive may feel that drinking during specific periods of the menstrual cycle is safe.
Taylor stated that during the luteal phase, which is the last two weeks of the menstrual cycle before bleeding begins and when the process of implantation happens, not just high drinking but even moderate drinking was strongly related with a lower likelihood of conception. She teaches epidemiology and population health at the University of Louisville’s School of Public Health and Information Sciences.
When compared to non-drinkers, both moderate and heavy drinking during the luteal phase was related to a 44 percent reduction in the odds of conceiving. Heavy drinking throughout the ovulatory phase of the cycle was linked to a 61% lower chance of becoming pregnant.
Heavy drinking was classified as having more than six drinks per week, moderate drinking as having three to six drinks per week, and binge drinking as having four or more drinks in a single day.
If they assume that a typical, healthy, non-drinking woman in the general population who is trying to conceive has a 25% chance of conceiving during one menstrual cycle, then out of 100 women, approximately 25 non-drinkers will conceive, about 20 moderate drinkers will conceive, and only about 11 heavy drinkers will conceive, according to Taylor.
However, moderate drinking has a stronger effect during the luteal phase, and only approximately 16 moderate drinkers would conceive, she noted.
The study also discovered that every extra day of binge drinking was connected with a 19% decrease in the probability of conceiving during the luteal phase and a 41% decrease during the ovulatory phase.
Taylor added an essential note of caution: the findings of this study should not be interpreted as implying that consuming alcohol prevents pregnancy. In other words, drinking is not a method of birth control. Even if a woman consumes a lot of alcohol, she can become pregnant if she has unprotected intercourse, she claims.
The study was unable to verify cause and effect, but the researchers stated that there are a few probable explanations for how alcohol may affect conception. Excessive drinking, for example, may prevent the egg from being released during ovulation, or alcohol may inhibit correct implantation of the egg within the womb.
Dr. Susan Maxwell is a reproductive surgeon and infertility expert at Northwell Health Fertility of New York City. She was not engaged in the current study, but she believes it is a good reminder of the significance of moderation, particularly when it comes to alcohol use.
According to Maxwell, this study depended on individuals correctly recording and being candid about their alcohol usage. They also calculated the duration of the women’s menstrual cycles to determine when ovulation happened. Because most subjects had consistent cycle durations, these estimations could be established with confidence.
She feels that women who are attempting to conceive should restrict their alcohol consumption throughout the ovulatory window and following ovulation based on the findings. A fair rule of thumb is to limit to two drinks each week.