The effect of alcohol on conception, eggs and sperm

There is an opinion among the people that there will be no harm from a glass of wine or a glass of cognac. Often this glass of wine becomes daily. And the spouses do not see anything bad in this either, in fact, alcohol has a cumulative effect. Often it manifests itself precisely when a man and a woman think about offspring. Alcohol has a different effect on the female and male body, but the result is often disastrous.

Alcohol and man

Sperm cells are quite fragile and delicate cells. Anything can affect the quality of sperm - a man's illness, fatigue, the state of stress in which he is. Alcohol, or rather ethyl alcohol, which it contains, reduces the mobility of a man's germ cells, lowering his fertility (ability to fertilize).

Previously, it was believed that a couple of glasses does not affect the quality of sperm in any way, because they are produced long before a man takes a dose of alcohol. Now doctors completely deny this information, because alcohol breakdown products penetrate into the seminal fluid within an hour after alcohol intake. Destructive processes begin to take place in it, alcohol destroys and "cripples" healthy germ cells. A sperm without a tail or head is incapable of conception.

With prolonged and systematic intake of alcohol, sperm cells are already produced unhealthy, not only their morphology changes, but also genetics. If such a genetically modified sperm does fertilize an egg, then the risk of having a sick child will be very high.

Earlier, when medicine was not at such a high level, natural selection often "worked". Sick and defective embryos, which appeared as a result of drunken conception, were rejected by the female body itself, and a miscarriage occurred. Now doctors are trying to preserve pregnancy at any cost, therefore, children with severe pathologies, defects, chromosomal abnormalities are increasingly born.

The systematic use of alcoholic beverages negatively affects potency, and the more and longer a man drinks, the worse his libido and the ability to have a full sexual intercourse. New sperm cells mature for a long time - about 3 months.

That is why doctors recommend abstaining from drinking alcohol for 3-4 months if a man is seriously planning to become the father of a healthy and happy baby.

Alcohol and Women's Health

Every girl is born with a large "strategic" ovarian reserve of eggs. During puberty, the eggs begin to leave the follicles once a month, ovulation occurs, and the menstrual cycle is established. Alcohol can disrupt this process, cause an increase in the number of anovulatory cycles, that is, cycles in which ovulation does not occur at all.

The morphology and structure of the oocyte, equally with sperm, can change under the influence of alcohol. Alcohol has a destructive effect not only on the dominant follicle in which the egg is maturing, and its release will occur in this cycle, but also on the entire supply of eggs in the ovaries. In this way, The chances of conceiving a healthy child in a drinking woman are minimal, even if she stopped drinking a few months ago.

The ovaries themselves, with periodic libations of their "mistress", begin to age rapidly, their functions fade away, the woman becomes sterile. But here many may wonder why, then, drinking women suffering from obvious alcoholism regularly become pregnant and give birth, and they get it faster than a couple of teetotalers planning their baby.

The answer to this question is rather unexpected. A woman's eggs, while the functions of the ovaries are not completely extinguished, have the ability to "mobilize" in extreme situations, because their main task is to continue the birth. They begin to perform this program with redoubled strength, no longer being healthy and full, so there is no need to talk about a healthy conception.

Intoxicated conception

If both partners at the time of conception are in a state of alcoholic intoxication, but at the same time are not chronically drinkers, there is a chance that the conception will be successful and the child will be healthy, but it is not great.

It is not difficult to guess what the risk of a man and a woman who decide to drink alcohol before sex. The health of their heir is at stake. For a man, the state of intoxication at the moment of conception is more critical than for a woman, because alcohol penetrates into the seminal fluid, modifying its sex cells. The woman's ovum matured earlier. If during the follicular phase of the cycle a woman did not take alcohol, then a small amount of it at the time of conception will not have time to affect the egg itself, but it can affect the processes of its division and movement along the fallopian tube after the meeting of the egg with the sperm has taken place.

That is why quite often "drunken" sex ends with an ectopic pregnancy, early miscarriage, detachment of the ovum. Any interference with the subtle processes of division of a fertilized egg, including at the chemical level, can lead to disruptions of these processes, loss of pregnancy.

Drinking alcohol after conception

From the moment of conception to the moment of delay in menstruation, which serve as a signal for a woman to take a pregnancy test, at least 2 weeks pass. Sometimes a lady has absolutely no idea that conception has taken place, and during these two weeks she leads a free lifestyle, in which there is a place for alcohol. After the "striped" test, which shows the true reason for the delay in menstruation, a woman involuntarily arises a question, how the alcohol taken before the delay in menstruation can affect the unborn child and whether it is worth keeping such a pregnancy.

Everything that enters the mother's body from the first hours after conception, to one degree or another, goes to the future baby. If we are not talking about chronic alcoholism and large doses of strong alcohol, the female body can partially compensate the child for the inconvenience. Therefore, it is not worth having an abortion just because several glasses of wine were taken by the woman before the delay. With a high degree of probability, the healthy and young organism of the expectant mother has minimized the harmful effects as much as possible.

It is important to avoid drinking alcohol in the future., because the baby is undergoing an important and responsible process - this is the formation of all organs and systems, alcohol can make its own "adjustments", then malformations of internal organs, brain, spinal cord are not excluded.

Drinking alcohol at the beginning of pregnancy increases the risks that the period of bearing a baby will be accompanied by severe toxicosis.

The immunity of a woman who before conception was not averse to drinking alcohol is reduced in comparison with the immunity of a non-drinking woman. This creates an additional danger when carrying a baby, because such a woman is more vulnerable to viruses and bacteria that surround her.

The consequences of "drunken conception" for a child

There is no doubt that alcohol before conception and during conception affects the child. But for some reason, not all couples think about it. Most likely, the reason for such carelessness lies in the lack of specific information about what the consequences may be. We are accustomed to the fact that we are simply told that alcohol is harmful, without explaining exactly how drinking can affect the offspring. Alcohol, acting at the time of conception on the reproductive cells of women and men, can lead to disruptions in the construction of DNA chains in the dividing cells of the zygote. The laying of organs and systems may initially go the wrong way.

There are several of the most common consequences of drunken conception.

"Hare lip" and "Wolf's mouth"

A cleft lip is a facial defect associated with a non-closure of the upper lip, the formation of an ugly cleft. This creates difficulties with feeding the baby, later such a cleft interferes with the formation of speech. Most often, boys are born with this defect. A cleft is formed before 8 weeks of pregnancy.

The pathology is based on the mutation of the TBX22 gene, which becomes possible not only with radiation exposure, but also with the systematic intake of alcohol by two spouses or one of the spouses, even in insignificant quantities. Unfortunately, such a defect in a child can only be detected in late pregnancy during an ultrasound scan. Usually at such times (after 32 weeks) the pregnancy is no longer interrupted.

The cleft palate is a pathology associated with the formation of a cleft in the soft and hard palate, a non-closure, as a result of which the nasal cavity is not isolated from the oral cavity. This also creates tangible problems with feeding the baby, with the development of his speech functions. This pathology most often appears due to the fault of the mother, since it is caused by alcoholic and other teratogenic effects on the TBX22 gene in the X chromosome.

In both cases, the baby is waiting for an operation, and possibly a whole series of operations designed to eliminate the defect, and then a long rehabilitation period. The cleft palate is more common and more difficult to treat. It happens that a child under 2-3 years old has to undergo up to 7 surgical interventions.

Fetal alcohol syndrome

Under this concept lies a large list of combinations of mental and physical defects and anomalies that develop in the fetus due to the fact that his mother consumed alcohol before or after conception. Most often, the central nervous system suffers, the child is born with mental retardation, impaired intelligence and behavior, as well as abnormalities in the structure of the brain.

Almost all children conceived in a drunken "stupor" are born with a lack of body weight and short stature. A frequent manifestation of fetal fetal alcohol syndrome is congenital heart and reproductive system defects. The severity of the lesions depends on how much, how long, and how often the mother and father take alcohol. All children with this syndrome have certain external features:

the eyes look shorter and narrower;
the nose of the baby is flat and wide;
the labial groove (vertical folds between the upper lip and nose) is almost absent;
the upper lip is thinner;
Mongoloid fold of the eyelids in the area of the lacrimal canal;
a certain degree of microcephaly (a decrease in the size of the skull and brain mass).

Usually babies with alcohol syndrome are seen immediately after birth. All alcohol-induced anomalies are considered life-long and do not go away with age. Signs of fetal alcohol syndrome are not always visible externally.

If a woman uses infrequently and a little, but still systematically, if a non-drinking woman decides to conceive from a heavily drinking man, then the processes inherent in fetal alcohol syndrome in the child will proceed latently, but they will certainly appear.

Other consequences

Excessive alcohol consumption by the mother, father or both spouses before conception, at the time of conception, in the first two weeks after conception, as well as during pregnancy, often manifests itself in a child who looks completely healthy at birth, later.

These disorders include hearing and visual impairments, which parents begin to learn about a few weeks or months after the baby is born. They have a reduced ability to learn, it is much more difficult to teach such a kid even elementary things. They have significant problems with memorization and concentration.

Behavioral problems in children born of "drunken conception" begin to manifest themselves not only in adolescence, but earlier. They often need training in special correctional schools. Such children are physically unable to control all their emotions, they have a poor idea of the consequences of their ugly or illegal actions.

Some statistics

Often, expectant parents think that the described consequences can affect anyone, but not their family. This is not so, because the inexorable statistics show that out of 1000 newborns in Russia, 10 babies have signs of fetal alcohol syndrome. If one child with such a syndrome grows up in a family, then, according to statistics, the second child with an 80% probability will also suffer from one degree or another of fetal alcoholic illness.

A woman who drinks several times a week has a 45% chance of giving birth to a sick baby. If she continues to drink during pregnancy, this likelihood doubles. Russian studies have shown that 13% of babies who are in orphanages or children's homes have clear signs of fetal alcohol syndrome, and 45% of children have signs of a violation of the fetal alcohol spectrum (symptoms are mild, but they are present).

90% of these children are at risk of developing sudden alcoholism during adolescence. In women who drank moderately during pregnancy, these risks are no less. The child will be genetically prone to alcoholism.