Male Fertility

[mitchkramer]

Dr, does drinking the few days prior to trying to concieve hurt the health of the sperm, morphology, quality etc. Can this in turn cause any birth deffects in the embryo/baby. If a baby is concieved, should we go through with the pregnancy. Very worried, I do have a few drinks a day, but the few days prior to trying to conceive and thru IUI with my wife, I had been drinking quite a bit more? Please help ASAP!..

Also Dr, when is a sperm that leaves the body today via ejaculation actually produced?

[mitchkramer]

Thanks very much, so the count Only and not the health is affected?  

[Mariana101]

You will be ok!!!! It only affect sperm COUNT!!! So if your wife is pregnant with that little sperm... imagining that the number of sperm lowered with the alcohol, then consider yourself lucky and God bless :)  It only takes one sperm anyway:)

This is a good article about it:

Studies bear out the idea that alcohol does affect sperm count.  One particular study, performed on male rats, suggested that rats that were given a dose of alcohol high enough to become intoxicated within 24 hours prior to mating had as much of a 50% less conception rate.  However, studies on human beings have even shown that intoxication in particular will, at least temporarily, reduce sperm count.  In addition, there is some evidence to suggest that long-term use of alcohol will lead to more permanent damage, including a permanent reduction in sperm count.

There are other vices, as well, that can affect sperm count, besides alcohol.  Smoking tobacco is thought not only to decrease the quality of a woman’s eggs, but it is thought to reduce a man’s sperm count.  Illicit drugs like cocaine, as well, have been demonstrated to affect sperm count.  Marijuana tends to have a similar affect on sperm count, and is also likely to cause a man to have more abnormal sperm.  Even caffeine, some experts suggest, can affect sperm count as much as alcohol affects sperm count.
If you have had problems with a low sperm count, your health care provider may be able to help determine the cause.  On the other hand, the cause of low sperm count is often unknown.  In many cases, avoiding alcohol and other potentially troublesome substances may be the best way to avoid affecting your sperm count.