Sons of mothers who drank alcohol during pregnancy may have problems with sperm quality, it was reported during the 26th annual congress of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Rome.
As Danish doctors from Aarhus University Hospital have shown, mothers who drink 4,5 units of alcohol a week during pregnancy give birth to sons who 20 years later produce 1/3 less sperm compared to their peers whose pregnant mothers did not drink . A unit of alcohol is 12 grams of pure alcohol – the same as in 330 milliliters of beer, a small (120 ml) glass of wine or a glass of vodka (40 milliliters).
According to Dr. Cecilia Ramlau-Hansen, the lead researcher, the research results still need to be confirmed. So far, 347 young men whose mothers participated in a survey on pregnancy behavior in 1984-87 have been examined. Although the most sperm – more than the sons of abstainers – was produced by the sons of mothers who drank 1-1 units of alcohol a week during pregnancy, it is difficult to draw any firm conclusions – perhaps the women who drank the least were simply healthier than those who drank at all. (PAP)