Can External Factors Affect A Patient’s Fertility?
Doctors categorize infertility as the inability to have a viable pregnancy after 12 months of unprotected sex. Infertility affects millions of men and women, with approximately 1 in 6 people dealing with this condition throughout the world. Medical factors like an abnormally shaped uterus or pituitary gland issues can affect fertility. However, environmental factors also contribute to infertility. Environmental factors include lifestyle choices like eating habits, physical activity, and other behaviors.
The effect of tobacco on pregnancy
Researchers have discovered that smoking tobacco and nicotine products can negatively impact fertility. Smoking makes conception difficult and can lead to complications like stillbirth, miscarriage, and placental abruption. Smoking can also disrupt hormone production, which is crucial to reproduction. Similarly, smoking can also damage the reproductive system by corrupting the DNA in sperm cells.
Understanding the ways alcohol impacts reproductive health
Oftentimes, alcohol is grouped with tobacco as a substance that can do a lot of damage to the body. Alcohol can damage body organs, causing diseases like cirrhosis and liver cancer. Excessive alcohol use can also lead to addiction, and drinking while pregnant results in fetal alcohol syndrome. Fetal alcohol syndrome is a disease that causes cognitive and physical disabilities in babies. Alcohol can also decrease fertility in both men and women in a multitude of ways.
1. Increased alcohol intake can alter the menstrual cycle
The menstrual cycle is vital to pregnancy and prepares the body by releasing an egg and lining the uterus. The second half of the menstrual cycle, called the luteal phase, is when the body develops the uterine lining. Researchers believe that alcohol negatively affects the luteal phase, which disrupts the overall menstrual cycle. Excessive alcohol usage can make conception difficult throughout the menstrual cycle.
2. Alcohol can interfere with testosterone and sperm production
Heavy alcohol drinkers risk erectile dysfunction, which prevents conception. Excessive alcohol use, like binge drinking, can limit gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). This hormone prompts testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone production. Alcohol can also affect sperm morphology, which is the shape and size of the sperm cell. Abnormally shaped sperm cells have difficulty fertilizing eggs.
3. Alcohol use can lead to the development of diseases like cancer, hypertension, and liver disease
When patients consistently binge drink or regularly consume excessive amounts of alcohol, patients are more likely to develop chronic diseases that affect fertility. Liver disease is a condition that is closely linked to alcoholism. Studies show that women with cirrhosis are 40% more likely to struggle with fertility issues. Cirrhosis affects estrogen production and causes malnutrition, which interferes with menstruation and fertility.
Consulting a professional
Patients dealing with alcoholism should speak with a medical professional immediately. A medical professional will help the patient explore options regarding substance abuse treatment and counsel patients on reproductive health. A doctor will be able to refer patients struggling with fertility to specialists to help evaluate the situation.
