Alcoholic Mothers Can Reduce The Fertility of Sons
When alcohol goes in, strange things come out. Stands true with this new Danish research which found out that, women who consumed too much of alcohol during their pregnancy period mothered male sons with less sperm counts. The sperm count in the sons of alcohol addicted mothers was found one third less than the average. It was found to be 32 percent less than the sons of mothers who totally abstained from drinking.
The researchers looked into the drinking habits of 347 women during pregnancy and assessed the fertility levels in their son now in the age group of 18 to 21 years. The participant mothers and sons were classified into four groups.
Mothers who abstained from drinking Mothers who drink occasionally as such one to one and a half drink weekly. Mothers drinking two to four drinks in a week Mothers addicted to drinking and taking more than four drinks weekly.
The drinks were categorized as beer, wine and spirits. Upon the assessment of sperm count in their son, the scientists found that exposure to the alcohol during pregnancy decreased their sperm concentration to 25 million/ ml from average 40 million/ml. Sperm concentration in semen and movements, testosterone concentration were also considered. This research was based on the study conducted on pregnant women during 1984 and 1987 to evaluate their drinking habit. The men were also asked to answer lifestyle and health related questions to assess the influence of contributing factors like maternal smoking, reproduction disease, if any and sexual abstinence before giving the samples in sons.
The researchers found out that the more the alcohol, less the sperm count and concentration. Though, they observed this signifies no crystal clear cause and effect relationship on sperm activeness or physical shape. They noted that a high level of alcohol consumption was seen in mothers who smoked, had lower body weight and BMI. They concluded that alcohol during pregnancy can have declining effect on sperm concentration but it could not be only one playing the role of semen quality spoiler in men. Also, low sperm counts do not mean they cannot help their partners in getting pregnant.
They felt that this research could be a stepping stone to understand the factors that influence testicle development during pregnancy and decreased semen quality observed over the years. Still, it should be kept in mind that the case studies were qualified on the basis of maternal smoking. Doing a study to attest alcohol risks on the participants who were differentiated on their smoking habits increase the chance findings. To establish the findings with suitable statistics and relevancy, this research needs to be conducted on a larger scope with more number of participants and different ethnicities.
Along with this, for a better understanding of the research the standard size of consumed alcohol should be same. In different countries, to different people, standard consumption can be a varied criterion. However, the fact that alcohol is no good, especially in women who want to conceive or about to give birth. Several researches have reported the harmful and undesired effects of alcohol on pregnant women.
Drinking should be completely avoided in first three months of pregnancy to discard the risk of miscarriage. No safe or low level of alcohol has been decided yet for pregnant women. To be on a safer side, it is recommended to avoid it completely.
The researchers looked into the drinking habits of 347 women during pregnancy and assessed the fertility levels in their son now in the age group of 18 to 21 years. The participant mothers and sons were classified into four groups.
Mothers who abstained from drinking Mothers who drink occasionally as such one to one and a half drink weekly. Mothers drinking two to four drinks in a week Mothers addicted to drinking and taking more than four drinks weekly.
The drinks were categorized as beer, wine and spirits. Upon the assessment of sperm count in their son, the scientists found that exposure to the alcohol during pregnancy decreased their sperm concentration to 25 million/ ml from average 40 million/ml. Sperm concentration in semen and movements, testosterone concentration were also considered. This research was based on the study conducted on pregnant women during 1984 and 1987 to evaluate their drinking habit. The men were also asked to answer lifestyle and health related questions to assess the influence of contributing factors like maternal smoking, reproduction disease, if any and sexual abstinence before giving the samples in sons.
The researchers found out that the more the alcohol, less the sperm count and concentration. Though, they observed this signifies no crystal clear cause and effect relationship on sperm activeness or physical shape. They noted that a high level of alcohol consumption was seen in mothers who smoked, had lower body weight and BMI. They concluded that alcohol during pregnancy can have declining effect on sperm concentration but it could not be only one playing the role of semen quality spoiler in men. Also, low sperm counts do not mean they cannot help their partners in getting pregnant.
They felt that this research could be a stepping stone to understand the factors that influence testicle development during pregnancy and decreased semen quality observed over the years. Still, it should be kept in mind that the case studies were qualified on the basis of maternal smoking. Doing a study to attest alcohol risks on the participants who were differentiated on their smoking habits increase the chance findings. To establish the findings with suitable statistics and relevancy, this research needs to be conducted on a larger scope with more number of participants and different ethnicities.
Along with this, for a better understanding of the research the standard size of consumed alcohol should be same. In different countries, to different people, standard consumption can be a varied criterion. However, the fact that alcohol is no good, especially in women who want to conceive or about to give birth. Several researches have reported the harmful and undesired effects of alcohol on pregnant women.
Drinking should be completely avoided in first three months of pregnancy to discard the risk of miscarriage. No safe or low level of alcohol has been decided yet for pregnant women. To be on a safer side, it is recommended to avoid it completely.
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