TOPLINE

Low-to-moderate consumption of alcohol during early pregnancy was associated with higher odds of miscarriage, whereas consumption of alcohol before conception was linked to lower odds of infertility.

METHODOLOGY

• Using data from the Generation R Next Study, researchers evaluated associations between alcohol consumption — both before conception and during early pregnancy — and risks for infertility and miscarriage.
• They analysed 3225 women and their partners aged 18 years or older who were enrolled before conception or during early pregnancy between 2017 and 2021.
• Data on alcohol consumption were collected via standardised questionnaires prior to the conception period and during early pregnancy. Consumption was categorised as none, less than one glass per week, or one or more glasses per week.
• A total of 945 episodes from 944 unique women were included in time-to-pregnancy analyses and 2465 pregnancy episodes from 2259 unique women were included in miscarriage analyses.

TAKEAWAY

• During early pregnancy, women who consumed less than one glass of alcohol per week had nearly double the odds of miscarriage compared with those who did not consume alcohol (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.99; 95% CI, 1.36-2.92), and those who consumed one or more glasses of alcohol per week had more than twofold higher odds (aOR, 2.37; 95% CI, 1.58-3.57).
• Among women during early pregnancy, binge drinking was associated with 52% higher odds of miscarriage than no binge drinking (P < .05).
• Before conception, women who consumed less than one glass of alcohol per week and one or more glasses per week had 39% and 46% lower odds of infertility, respectively (P < .05 for both).
• Alcohol consumption among men partners was not associated with infertility.

IN PRACTICE

"The associations of low-to-moderate preconception alcohol consumption with lower odds of infertility might reflect healthier lifestyles, socioeconomic factors, and residual confounding by health-related abstinence from alcohol, all of which are associated with greater fertility. Therefore, preconception and early-pregnancy counseling should mainly focus on the risk of miscarriage and fetal health outcomes," the authors wrote.

SOURCE

This study was led by Morena Martinez Mayans, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands. It was published online on September 09, 2026, in Nutrients.

LIMITATIONS

Data on alcohol consumption were self- or partner-reported, which may have introduced recall and social desirability biases. The researchers may have misclassified early miscarriages that occurred before clinical pregnancy recognition as non-conceptions. The observational design may have introduced residual confounding.

DISCLOSURES

The Generation R Study received funding from the Erasmus University Medical Centre, Erasmus University Rotterdam, and the Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development. This study received support from ZonMw. The authors declared having no conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.