Alcohol and fertility: do I need to give it up?

Written by Melanie Brown BSc (Hons), MSc. Reviewed by Dr Katherine Joseph. (January 2026) for OVUM

“Do I need to give up alcohol?”

This is one of my most frequently asked questions when I talk to my clients about how good nutrition can help both male and female fertility. Do I have to stop drinking? I feel very sympathetic here as I love my glass of wine at the end of a long week! And most of my clients are in their thirties and forties, and when you cannot drink at all, for whatever reason, it can be incredibly difficult for your social life and very annoying and often upsetting when people ask you if you are pregnant because you have refused a drink. 

Unfortunately, there are so many variables associated with drinking alcohol that the research is very difficult to do to ascertain exactly how much alcohol affects fertility. The type of alcohol, the strength, the amount, the frequency, whether you smoke as well, eat healthily, if the partner also drinks and how much are all important factors in determining cause and effect.

So, the short answer is:to be completely safe, if you are trying to conceive, the NHS recommend that women (note: nothing about men) should abstain altogether, as there is no set ‘safe’ limit; and women may become pregnant without realising, when the effects of alcohol may be more damaging to the developing foetus.

How does alcohol affect female fertility? 

Alcohol can affect ovulation, hormone balance and egg quality. Many women report increased sensitivity to alcohol, for example, when they are pre-menstrual. Studies have shown that heavy intake (defined as >6 drinks/week of alcoholic beverages) in the luteal phase and ovulatory sub-phase is associated with reduced odds of conception Moderate intake( defined as 3–6 drinks/week) during the luteal phase was also associated with reduced fertility.

• Hormonal imbalance, leading to irregular or absent ovulation can occur due to alcohol’s disruption of the hormonal control system (The HPO axis). This system regulates ovulation, and therefore, disruption of this can negatively impact ovulation.

• Reduced egg quality with frequent or heavy intake due to oxidative stress. Alcohol increases oxidative stress in the body, which in turn can damage eggs (which are highly sensitive, particularly in the 3-4 months they are maturing). 

• Lower chances of implantation. This is because alcohol increases inflammation in the body, therefore impacting endometrial receptivity to implantation. 

• Increased miscarriage risk and risk to the baby’s health once pregnant. Once pregnant, the impact of alcohol on hormonal balance, inflammation and oxidative stress, as previously mentioned, may pose a risk to the health of the embryo. It is important to note that there is no set safe volume of alcohol exposure during pregnancy. 

How does alcohol affect male fertility

Alcohol mainly interferes with hormones and sperm quality.

• Lower testosterone, can reduce sperm production due to disrupting the hormone control centre (HPO axis). Testosterone is key for the creation of sperm, so this in turn impacts male reproductive health.

• Poor sperm quality via lower count, reduced motility, increased abnormal shape. This is due to alcohol increasing oxidative stress in the body, which can damage sperm cells.

• DNA damage in sperm  can also be caused by oxidative stress in the body and may affect embryo development.

• Erectile and ejaculation issues with heavier drinking. With alcohol being a depressant that interferes with many processes in the body, this can lead to erectile dysfunction concerns.

Heavy or chronic drinking has the strongest effect, but even regular “moderate” regular drinking can subtly reduce sperm health.

Practical tips

• Avoid going out just for ‘drinks’ with no food

• Eat something before you are tempted to drink. 

• Seek out pubs and bars that do cater for non-drinkers .Avoid places that expect you to just have fizzy water or lime and soda all night.

• There are some excellent alcohol-free beers on the market like Zed Pale Ale, Lucky Saint Zero and Guinness Zero alcohol, for example. There are also many alcohol free ‘spirit’ alternatives, some nicer than others! Try putting some in your bag in a little bottle, then buying a tonic water and adding your ‘shot’.

My advice if you are actively trying to conceive, or preparing for IVF

• Women: Best option is avoiding alcohol altogether

• Men: Aim for minimal intake -ideally ≤1–2 drinks/week (remember: sperm takes ~3 months to regenerate, so habits now matter later

The reassuring part

• Fertility often improves within weeks to months after reducing alcohol, especially if you have been used to drinking regularly

• Occasional drinks during celebrations are unlikely to cause long-term harm

• Consistency matters more than perfection

Key Takeaways

• Research has shown that alcohol may impact female fertility through disrupting hormone signalling, raising inflammation, and increasing oxidative stress. All of these have a negative impact on the health of your eggs and general reproductive function. 

• The impacts of alcohol are not isolated to women; male fertility can be negatively impacted by alcohol via lowering testosterone, damaging sperm cells, and potentially causing erectile dysfunction. 

• It can be really difficult to reduce or remove alcohol from your life. But I find it easier to tell my clients to think of alcohol reduction as part of a project; it is not going to be forever, and you will feel all the better for it. 

PODCAST: Does a lack of sleep affect my fertility? with Fertility Podcast

This episode has a slightly unusual intro as I had to record it whilst driving, my recorder was safely stored in my glove compartment or whatever the bit in the middle is, by the handbreak.. it does affect the quality a bit, so I apologise. However I’m just back from Fertility Fest and needed to go and pick up my son and get this episode finished.. Hence the need to multi task. You’ll hear a quick chat from Jessica Hepburn from Fertility Fest who I did an insta live with after the session to day (Sunday 28th April) and I’ve lifted the audio, seeing Lives dissapear.. again a slight quality issue. I also wanted you to get to watch the Fertility Fight Club live stream which you can do so here 

Melanie Brown

Now onto my guest. Meet Melanie Brown, a fertility nutritionist and former guest on this podcast. I wanted to speak with Mel after I saw her post this on her instagram

So I wanted to know more. Now, this chat was back in January, so Mel does refer to it being dark in the afternoons and getting lighter (don’t get confused if you’re listening in April when I’ve released it).

Mel was keen to know about the effects of circadian rhythms on your fertility and whether it can affect it. We spoke about how it’s been known for a long time that shift workers, stewardess and pilots have menstrual irregularities and that there is a great deal of evidence that fertility is diminished. 

But what about the rest of us, working normal hours. Does it affect us? Well it seems it does.

The luteinizing hormone that surges mid-cycle is under the 24-hour body clock control so disturbances could affect ovulation and uterine receptivity. 

If implantation doesn’t happen, despite embryos being quality and blastocyst… everything is done to receive the embryo (scratch, washes then we need to start to consider the stress  on the body from  sleep deprivation affecting uterine receptivity

There was also discussion about TNF Alpha – related to Natural killer cells being linked to sleep stress pathway. 

Mel explained how she always recommend my clients use a SAD lamp as there is evidence that getting 20 min of natural daylight in the morning before 9am can have an extremely positive effect and can set your master clock

Did you know that IVF success rates are lower in the winter,  higher in the spring and summer

I think it’s also to do with you get up in the dark, go to work in the dark, artificial light and she spoke about 

Mel spoke about the benefits of melatonin and how in order to prepare to go to sleep, make sure you are not in a bright bedroom, checking your phone and then turning off the light and hoping to go to sleep

We spoke about Sleep Hygiene. Warm bed cold room… we evolved to sleep in cold temperatures having the heating on in the winter is bad for our sleep

We spoke about whether the sleep before midnight more valuable than after and how its the quantity of sleep. If you go after midnight you’re more likely to get less sleep

 The cut-off point for sleep damage is UNDER 6 hours

Did you know you can do SLEEP CATCH up at the weekend it’s been discovered you can… just do it for one night… it’s quite technical so have a listen to how Mel explains it, but do remember that sleep is our wear and repair time and we try and we might to get out of it… we can’t do it. Remember that the environment that interrupts our sleep, so use blackout blinds and earbuds.

Women with diminished ovarian research are 30 times more likely to have disturbed sleep? 

Mel gave great advice on how to approach sleep when you are going through IVF… sometimes it’s easier to think of it as a project. I know I did like it was a science experiment. Mel said ‘You have to think – I have to be in bed for at least 7 hours, so I have some spare time to get back to sleep and I’m not going to get anxious. It’s like school nights you’re getting as much sleep as you can. If you don’t get enough sleep something else will give – the immune system you have to take the best care of yourself and sleep is an essential part of that…”

Do have a listen to my previous chat with Mel about how a Mediterranean diet can really benefit male fertility here