Past Alcohol Abuse

Q. Years ago I had a problem with alcohol, but I haven’t had a drink in years. Could past alcohol abuse have an impact on my fertility now?

A. Most levels of alcohol usage in the past won’t affect your fertility now. But if someone has cirrhosis of the liver as a result of past drinking, then that certainly could cause a problem. A man who has cirrhosis could have a high level of the female hormone estrogen, which could affect fertility. And a woman with cirrhosis is not a good candidate for pregnancy; it’s not necessarily that the cirrhosis will affect fertility, but it would make the pregnancy a high-risk one.

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