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Ancient Akkadian texts speak of Geshtinanna, the goddess of wine and fertility. But does alcohol drinking and pregnancy really go well together? The link between alcohol intake and female fertility and fecundity (defined as the time it takes for a sexually active couple not using contraception to obtain pregnancy) is still a matter of controversy, as the results of research studies are conflicting.

A large European multicentre study found a prolonged waiting time to pregnancy in women with a high intake of alcohol (more than 14 drinks per week) (Olsen et al., 1997). Other studies have suggested a negative impact on fecundity even at low levels of alcohol (Grodstein et al., 1994; Hakim et al., 1998; Jensen et al., 1998; Juhl et al., 2003; Tolstrup et al., 2003; Eggert et al., 2004). For example, dr Tina Kold Jensen and others from the Department of Growth and Reproduction of the National University Hospital in Copenhagen reported that only 55% of women drinking a moderate amount of alcohol got pregnant within 6 months of starting to try, whereas 64% of women who didn't drink at all got pregnant in this time. Notably, the more alcohol that was consumed, the lower the apparent fertility of the women. The kind of alcohol made no difference: it included wine. Other researchers have not found any association between moderate alcohol intake and waiting time to pregnancy (Olsen et al., 1983; Joesoef, 1993; Florack et al., 1994; Zaadstra et al., 1994; Curtis, 1997; Parazzini et al., 1999).

In general for women, heavy alcohol consumption, which is generally defined as greater than two 10 g drinks of alcohol per day, has been consistently associated with anovulation and increased endometriosis (Grodstein et al. 1994). It has also been associated with a change in level of female reproductive hormones, for example, an increase in the level of oestrogen (Mendelson et al. 1987, Gavaler et al. 1993, Muti et al. 1998) and a decrease in the level of progesterone (Sarkola et al. 1999).

However, Juhl et al., in 2003, examined the reports of almost 30,000 Danish pregnant women and found that wine drinkers had slightly shorter waiting times to pregnancy than both non-wine drinkers and consumers of other alcoholic beverages. Whether that was an effect of wine itself or the characteristics of the wine drinker was still unclear. Furthermore, Juhl et al. added in the concluding comments of their paper "the association between wine drinking and waiting time to pregnancy was not very strong and there was no clear dose-response pattern."

On the other hand, alcohol exposure during pregnancy is universally recognized as a main cause of mental retardation and developmental problems in newborn babies (Abel and Hannigan 1995). In addition, heavy alcohol consumption has been associated with an increased risk of spontaneous abortion (Windham et al. 1997, Kesmodel et al. 2002). Therefore, current medical guidelines recommend that no alcohol should be consumed whatsoever over the period of conception and throughout pregnancy. Women who plan to get pregnant are largely aware of this and they usually drink less than those who do not have this intention.

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