Some doctors advise women who are trying to conceive to skip their morning cup (or more) of coffee or other caffeinated drinks, but the reason why caffeine may affect fertility – as well as its possible connection to miscarriage – isn’t well understood. Now, a new study from the University of Nevada School of Medicine in Reno, Nevada, offers more insight into how the popular drug influences a woman’s ability to get pregnant: This new research – which looked at mice, not people – found that caffeine reduces muscle activity in the Fallopian tubes, reports the British Journal of Pharmacology. When an ovary releases an egg, it must travel down a Fallopian tube to meet with sperm for conception. The muscles in the tubes, as well as fine hairs lining the tubes, help propel the tubes down. But lead researcher Sean M. Ward, D.Phil. and his team found that in mice caffeine halts the cells in the tubes’ walls responsible for that muscular action. “This provides an intriguing explanation as to why women with high caffeine consumption often take longer to conceive than women who do not consume caffeine,” Dr. Ward said in a press release.
