There is little doubt that alcohol affects male fertility negatively. The more relevant question is: how much alcohol is too much to threaten fertility and what harm to fertility will too much alcohol cause?
So how much is too much? Studies have shown that drinking more than four ounces of alcohol a day is bad for your reproductive system. As an example, a bottle of beer or a glass of wine contains about half an ounce of alcohol. Alcohol concentration largely depends on the type of beverage being consumed, but using beer as a guide, 8 bottles of beer a day will give you 4 ounces of alcohol content. This is certainly going to hurt your fertility.
This is how alcohol really affects male fertility :-
1. Alcoholism (excessive alcohol consumption) raises the level of estrogen in men. This in turn will interfere with your hormones and the development of your sperm. Why? Because alcohol is a toxin that tends to kill the sperm-generating cells in men. Worse yet, chronic alcoholism can cause atrophy of the testicles, gynecomastia, and a lack of sexual interest.
2. Excessive alcohol consumption causes a disorder in the gonads that produces changes in the structure of the testicles and a decrease in the serum level of T. A drop in the serum level of isT can cause male infertility.
3. The toxicity of excess alcohol can reduce sperm density or count. Usually the volume of a single ejaculate is 3 milliliters (sometimes as high as six milliliters per ejaculate) with 120 million sperm per ml. But alcohol can cause a drastic reduction in these figures. In addition, alcohol can cause abnormalities in the size, shape, and tail of sperm. Sperm motility can also be negatively affected.
4. Excess alcohol alters the regular oval head and straight tail of healthy sperm. This change in sperm shape can seriously compromise sperm viability. In addition, chronic alcoholism damages sperm morphology, which often has irreversible effects.
(Note: Drinking too much alcohol can also cause impotence and liver damage)
When in doubt, get a semen analysis to determine your fertility status. Sperm normally take about three months to develop. So if you want to have your sperm tested, you should refrain from sexual activity during this period to get a clearer and more reliable reading on the health and condition of the sperm being produced.
You don’t always have to see a urologist if you want to do a semen analysis. You can save a lot of money by using a lab technician instead. Another option is to use a semen analysis test kit that can do the work for you in the privacy of your own home. You can get some good basic information about the health of your semen and sperm.
As in men, alcoholism can also affect the reproductive health of mothers. Some of the causes are: ovarian dysfunction, amenorrhea, anovulation, luteal phase defect, hyperprolactinemia, etc.
To conclude, if you really want to have a baby, then cutting back on your drinking is an important consideration.