Dad’s drinking ‘significantly’ impacts IVF success

A recent study conducted at Texas A&M University found that “male alcohol use may significantly impede IVF success rates.”

The study gathered data from men who drank at the legal limit and those who drank at one and a half times the legal limit. The research revealed that even very modest levels of exposure to alcohol had an impact on conception, implantation, and overall IVF pregnancy success rates. The chance of failure increased along with alcohol dosage.

In the end, the research concluded that male alcohol use directly impaired an embryo’s ability to successfully implant in the uterus and reduced IVF embryo survival rates.

Along with the health of the fetus, male alcohol consumption was found to directly increase the prospective parent’s financial burden — a single round of IVF can range from $15,000 to $30,000 — and emotional stress. Studies have even compared the stress of infertility to that of a cancer diagnosis.

Lead researcher Dr. Michael Golding said, “We say to the woman, ‘you need to be careful of what you eat. You need to stop smoking. You need to be doing all these different things to improve fertility.’”

“We don’t say anything to the man, and that’s a mistake, because what we’re seeing here is that the couple’s odds of success with their IVF procedure are increasing simply by addressing both parents’ health habits.”

The maternal-focused pressure of IVF is something that Dr. Asmia Ahmad Chief Medical Officer of Carrot Fertility continues to see in her practice.

“It’s very common,” Dr. Ahmad confirmed to The Post. “A lot of times people are thinking about fertility and the female, but they’re not thinking about the male and how fertility is impacted by them. What they do on a regular basis, their lifestyle, their medical history, their surgical history, their family history.”

She advised everyone to be honest with their physician from the beginning to accurately address the modifications that can be made to your health and set realistic expectations.

While alcohol consumption rates have increased, Golding notes that for the most part, “alcohol use is easily changed” and suggests that it be considered “a shared action item that can empower the couple to work together toward their goal of becoming pregnant.”

Information regarding IVF and similar assisted reproductive technologies (ART) are becoming increasingly important as the popularity of these procedures increases.

One in five American females ages 15 to 49 years are unable to get pregnant after one year of trying and one in four females in this group have difficulty getting pregnant or carrying a pregnancy to term, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

Couples struggling with fertility are increasingly using ART like IVF to have children. The most recent data found that 2.1% of all infants born in the United States are conceived using ART.

Dr. Jaime Knopman, Director of Fertility Preservation at CCRM Fertility in New York City told The Post that while IVF treatments are hard on women both mentally and physically.

Experts hope that this study will prompt further research into how the male’s health impacts IVF and takes some of the burden off the female.

“Looking at the sperm is helpful because it takes two to tango,” Knopman said.