Wine 'hits chances of IVF success'

Women who drink just a few glasses of white wine a week cut their chance of successful IVF, according to new research.

Men can also reduce their hopes of fathering a child if they consume a daily beer.

Meanwhile, couples where both partners drink six units a week - equivalent to sharing a bottle of wine - cut their chance of a live birth by 26%.

Experts from Harvard Medical School in Boston in the US asked 2,574 couples how much they drank and what type of alcohol they liked just before they embarked on IVF.

Of the group, 56% of women and 34% of men drank less than one alcoholic drink a week, while 4% of women and 5% of men drank at least once a day.

Dr Brooke Rossi, who led the study, said men and women who each had six UK-equivalent units a week or more "significantly reduced their likelihood of pregnancy". This is equivalent to two strong pints of beer or two large glasses of wine. Women cut their chances of getting pregnant by 18% while men reduced their chances of a live birth by 14%.

The effects were particularly strong for women drinking white wine and men drinking beer.

Females who had between one and nine units of white wine a week were 24% less likely to have a live birth and had a 23% greater chance of failed implantation of the embryo. Men who drank a beer daily contributed to a 30% less chance of a live birth and a 38% greater chance of failed implantation.

Dr Rossi said: "In general, women are told they should stop drinking when they are trying to achieve pregnancy."

Her data was presented at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) conference in Atlanta.

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