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Conception

When's the best time to get pregnant? Use our interactive ovulation calculator to work out when you're most fertile and most likely to conceive.

Original poster

OH and drinking

20 replies

winkle2 · 30/03/2012 22:59

Do your OH's drinking while your TTC? I keep having the same conversation with my hubby asking him to cut back.

He drinks about 3 times a week and what I would class as heavy drinking - 7 cans whilst watching the footy...

We said if we didn't get preg we'd give up drinking in April, but last night he started saying that he didn't agree to that.

I feel like such a nag...

OP posts:
morecoffeepleaseholdthecake · 30/03/2012 23:12

We agreed to give up alcohol a month or so ago (but rarely drank anyway). We both had a glass of wine a couple of nights ago as I was feeling very :( about my ishoos. And he had a beer tonight and I settled for a green tea Angry

Generally he doesnt drink much, just couple of units a week max, more often he has none.

Alcohol consumption (or should that be lack of it) has made no difference to our success as we have been ttc for 15months.....

CaveMum · 30/03/2012 23:15

It's worth noting that it takes around 90 days for sperm to be made, so any dietary changes will take at least 3 months before they have any effect on the quality of sperm.

morecoffeepleaseholdthecake · 30/03/2012 23:24

winkle, does oh want to give up his drink?

I know it is supposed to help improve conception if both partners stay off the booze, but like I said, we have hardly drank for the last 15months.

Original poster
winkle2 · 30/03/2012 23:35

No I don't think he does.

I've just spoken to him and he's drunk on Oxford st. gives up

OP posts:
FunnysInLaJardin · 30/03/2012 23:35

OK, so DH and I didn't give up wine at all. We had 2 MMC and 2 healthy DC in about 4 years, with a deliberate gap of 2 years. We are late 30/early 40's ish. My lovely marathon running friend gave up alcohol as did her DH. After 4 years they have just conceived on their 2nd IVF attempt. They are late 20's/early 30's. So who knows, just don't be too hard on your DH. Stress can be just as bad as drinking moderately IMO

iloveminieggs · 31/03/2012 10:02

I read it only affects male fertility not females drinking while ttc.

Geeklette · 31/03/2012 10:54

I've given up all alcohol (was previously down to less than the recommended 14 units/week anyway due to weight watchers) and as of yesterday gave up caffeine (~twitch~ no really I'm fine about it ~twitch twitch~) simply because I am a control freak and constantly have to be feeling I am doing something towards improving my chance.

My DP drinks as much as he always has - half a brewery a night usually. I've talked to him about it in the past, but it's not something he wants to give up and I know from experience it will only cause arguments if I harp on at him. He is seeing the doctor to discuss things from his pov on Tuesday. It may be that the doctor can give him an incentive that I can't - and he is more likely to believe the doc than me about it affecting his sperm.

blondebaby111 · 31/03/2012 12:02

I never drink alcohol on week days and i had a bit of an issue with other half doing the same...so if we have a drink we save it til weekends. But to honest you can go on and on thinking "shall i not do this, shall i not do that..should i be doing this " that it could actually make you go insane ,stress levels through the roof and actually make ttc very boring..so now i'm saying sod it ..you have one life..if a baby is meant to be part of my plan so be it. (i've been trying for 4 years and it's bloody tough!)

My mum struggled to concieve with me and she never drank at all ever until one night her and my dad went out, mum got absolutely hammered and.....3 weeks later she found out she was expecting me after that drunken night. if she didin't drink that night maybe i wouldn't be here now Shock

Original poster
winkle2 · 05/04/2012 11:05

Geeklette how did it go with OH and docs?

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beangrower · 05/04/2012 13:57

Hello all - I was worried about this too (and being a nag) so asked DP to do SA; I promised that if his results were good I would stop nagging. He drank just under half a bottle of wine at least 6 nights a week but rarely seemed drunk. Anyway - lo and behold his SA results were pretty poor. He's been brilliant and has stopped drinking for around 10 weeks now, apart from the odd tipple here and there. I'll let you know if it makes any difference to us as we're going to test again around the 3 month mark. I read that drinking can reduce male fertility by around 50%.

Totally agree that stress/tension is possibly as damaging to TTC as booze however. It's a tricky balance but cutting back might help. DP looks a tad healthier for his efforts too. Smile

Good luck. Sorry that everyone is having a rough time TTC. xxx

minipie · 05/04/2012 14:17

winkle

We were told by our consultant that women who are ttcing should have no more than 2 units a week and men who are ttcing should have no more than 5 units per week.

In case that helps persuade him.

mrsbugsywugsy · 05/04/2012 14:46

'women who are ttcing should have no more than 2 units a week and men who are ttcing should have no more than 5 units per week.'

but, but, but....that's lunch!

Shock
McPopcornMouseNFries · 05/04/2012 14:57

:o bugsy

I heard too much alcohol for women can affect the quality of the egg you grow and produce - I think it might have been a Zita book I read that in, but I'm not 100%.

I think if you've been ttc for an extended period, it's not unreasonable to suggest cutting down. Tbvh, if it's been more than 6-10 months and he's refused to cut back, I'd be questioning how committed he is to the ttc process...

Original poster
winkle2 · 05/04/2012 15:06

That's really good beangrower. I hope you get your BFP soon.

I'm a big drinker and I don't mind hubby drinking but to drink cans of beer at home for no reason is unnecessary in my opinion. And then the smoking that goes with it ? it's really not on if we want to have babies!

I've asked OH to cut his drinking right back to once or twice a week. So he had 4 beers on Tuesday night. I had a couple of glasses of wine. We are away this weekend at his family's so he will prob have a couple with his friend when he comes round and then we have our wedding anniversary on Monday so we can have a couple of glasses of champers.

Still too much for my liking but it's just one of those weeks where we have plans.

I read it takes 3 months of cutting back drinking for it to take effect ? I don't want to wait another 3 months for my baby :(

OP posts:
Original poster
winkle2 · 05/04/2012 15:06

McPopcornMouseNFries we have been trying for the past couple of months.

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DaisyAndConfused · 05/04/2012 15:27

Winkle2 sorry to have judgy pants on but suggest you need to be able to discuss and agree on the drinking and the smoking before you conceive - you will see plenty of threads on MN about couples with children where drinking causes real problems.

It's not just being committed to ttc, it's being committed to being a father.

A couple of months is not long to be trying tbh, don't be too impatient.

KatAndKit · 05/04/2012 15:36

2 units per can, 21 cans a week, that's 42 units of alcohol a week.

He is drinking double the recommended amount.

There is no need to give up altogether when ttc but he needs to at least halve his consumption. It is good that he has agreed to cut back, that ought to make his sperm count healthier.

Also sitting at home having seven cans in a row is binge drinking and I wouldn't be very happy about that anyway. More than three is excessive.

beangrower · 05/04/2012 19:55

Sorry - also got the judgey pants on Grin - smoking is meant to be even worse than booze for the swimmers... And agree that it's important post TTC too when you both need to be compus mentus and supporting each other through the utterly knackered bits.

I would maybe put aside TTC and both chat and get healthy together for a few months then start over. Hard though and I'm sure we all get peed off when we think of all those babies conceived after a massive night on the tiles etc.

Two months isn't v long at all, but I think you are right to tackle these issues asap.

Good luck Winkle.

Original poster
winkle2 · 06/04/2012 14:48

Thanks all.

We have been really going for it this year with TTC but Ive been off the pill since November 2010 and after our wedding last April we've been having sex without contraception so its actually been longer than 2-3 months!

We went out last night for dinner with family and he didn't drink so I'm really pleased. Long may it continue!!

OP posts:
Geeklette · 06/04/2012 16:18

Good luck winkle2, it sounds like he is trying at least.

At our recent doc's visit, he calculated my DP has a (conservative) 42 units a week and advised that he really needs to at least halve that. It's complicated somewhat by a lot of stresses my DP currently has, though two of those were resolved this last week and he has made an effort since (though having multiple extractions yesterday has probably helped - he's not been in the mood for beer since!).

DP is going to undergo SA hopefully next week, providing the surgery receives a copy of the correct form, and we are able to physically meet the timeframes required. Depending on the result, he may have added incentive to cut down on a regular basis.

Not seeing me drink at all seems to have had a bit of a positive impact on him, as it's no longer a 'social' thing that we do together in the evenings now. It also helps that I am quite vocal each time I make a coffee, asking if he wants one. Half the time now he's saying yes, rather than reaching for another beer. I'm so grateful that he gave up smoking six years ago though. It's one less hurdle, and hopefully any damage that was done in his smoking years has had time to heal.

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