Alcohol and Fertility: How Much Is Too Much? Kristin Van Heertum* and Brooke Rossi
Van Heertum and Rossi Fertility Research and Practice (2017) 3:10 DOI 10.1186/s40738-017-0037-x REVIEW Open Access Alcohol and fertility: how much is too much? Kristin Van Heertum* and Brooke Rossi Abstract: Alcohol use is prevalent in the United States. Given that a substantial portion of the drinking population is of reproductive age, it is not uncommon for couples who are attempting conception, or for women who are already pregnant, to be regularly consuming alcohol. Alcohol use is associated with multiple reproductive risks, including having a child with a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, increased risk of fetal loss, and decreased chance of live birth. This review serves to examine the risks of alcohol in the context of reproductive health. Keywords: Alcohol, Infertility, Fertility, Lifestyle, Fecundability Background performed using data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Approximately 12% of couples in the U.S. experience Surveillance System (BRFSS), a telephone based survey difficulty conceiving or impaired fecundity, defined as implemented by U.S. state health departments, found the ability to achieve a live birth in a single menstrual that while the overall prevalence of alcohol consumption cycle [1]. As alcohol is the most widely used recreational is not increasing, it appears that the rate of binge drinking substance, it is important to understand any deleterious is rising across the country [5]. effects it has on human reproduction [2]. In this review, The rates of alcohol use in pregnancy in the U.S. we will discuss the prevalence
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