Drinking Red Wine May Boost Female Fertility

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Drinking red wine at least once a week may improve women’s chances of becoming pregnant, a controversial new study has found.

The researchers at the Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, have found that the reason behind this is that red wine contains a special antioxidant called resveratrol.

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Research revealed that hopeful mothers who regularly drank red wine had a better ovarian reserve, the quantity of eggs present in the ovaries at any one time.

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The study, which looked at 135 women between the ages of 18 and 44, had participants note how much alcohol they consumed each month and then conducting ultrasound scans on each of the women to calculate how many remaining viable eggs they had. They found those who regularly drank red wine, regardless of other factors such as age and income, had a better ovarian reserve.

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However, the research also says that for those who are planning to get pregnant, the study doesn't mean that they need to drink red wine every evening.

Experts have also been quick to point out that the results should be considered with caution, as the study hadn’t proved that the wine was solely responsible for the fertility boost in participants.

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Adam Balen, chairman of the British Fertility Society, told The Times that the research was “interesting,” but insisted that further studies would be necessary in order to prove the findings.

“This is an interesting study, albeit with a small sample size which means that it doesn’t reach statistical significance.

“However, the exposure of the developing fetus to alcohol may cause irreversible developmental damage, so alcohol consumption should be less than six units [roughly two large glasses of wine] per week for women wishing to conceive.”

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In 2013, a larger study indicated that drinking three glasses of wine a week may actually reduce a woman’s chances of conceiving when trying for a baby using IVF, but doctors said more regular drinking may not itself be driving lower fertility but may indicate other factors such as stress which could be having an effect.

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In 2013, a larger study indicated that drinking three glasses of wine a week may actually reduce a woman’s chances of conceiving when trying for a baby using IVF, but doctors said more regular drinking may not itself be driving lower fertility but may indicate other factors such as stress which could be having an effect.

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The scientists also reiterated that though the study is really interesting, further research is still needed to confirm the study’s findings.