Mothers who drink alcohol during pregnancy can damage her son's fertility later in life, says a study by Danish scientists, as quoted in Sexual Health News June 29, 2010. The researchers found that if during pregnancy the mother drank alcohol as much as 4.5 or more per week, the sperm concentration of their children - some 20 years later - a third lower than men who are not exposed to alcohol during the pregnancy.
Dose of drinking was measured as 12 grams of alcohol, equivalent to 330 ml can of beer, one small glass of wine (120 ml).
Research by scientists at the University of Aarhus in Denmark was presented at the conference European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Rome.
"Our study shows that there is a connection between drinking alcohol in moderation during pregnancy and sperm concentration was lower in children," said Cecilia, who led the study.
But he noted that his research is an observational, scientists can not say for certain whether alcohol consumption is a cause of low sperm concentration.
"It is possible that drinking alcohol during pregnancy has harmful effects on fetal tissues that produce sperm in the testes - and thus have an impact on sperm quality in the future," Cecilia said in a report. According to Cecilia, given the research on the relationship of alcohol and sperm is the first time, more research is needed to determine causality and to drink the recommended safe limits.
However, if these findings are replicated by other studies in the future, may help explain why semen quality has declined in recent decades, and why in some countries are better than other countries.
The research team studied 347 Danish children born from 11 980 women who took part in the study between 1984 and 1987. Approximately 36 weeks of gestation, the mothers answered questions about lifestyle and health. After their children aged 18 and 21 years, between 2005 and 2006, the children of sperm and blood samples taken for analysis.
Data show that children of mothers who drank 4.5 or more alcoholic drinks per week had an average sperm concentration 25 million per milliliter, while children exposed to alcohol have at least 40 million sperm concentration per milliliter.