ESHRE says women who drink too much should be refused IVF

There's been a lot of interest today in the statement issued by the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) about alcohol and IVF. ESHRE has advised that women who drink any more than moderately and do not cut back on their alcohol consumption should be refused fertility treatment. This is because there is evidence that excess alcohol consumption can make it harder to conceive, can increase the rate of miscarriage and can have a serious impact on a baby's future health.

In general, moderate drinking for a woman is considered to be no more than two or three units a day, with a couple of alcohol-free days in the week. For women trying to conceive, however, or for those who are pregnant, the advice is not to drink at all or to have a maximum of one or two drinks a week.

The ESHRE statement also looked at smoking and obesity, both of which can have a considerable impact on your chances of getting pregnant and staying pregnant. It was suggested that doctors should help patients make any necessary lifestyle changes before treating them. I suspect the reality is that the vast majority of those going through fertility treatment will be only too willing to make every lifestyle change that they can in order to increase their chances of success.

You can read more about the statement at www.eshre.com