Acute paternal alcohol exposure impairs fertility and fetal outcome

An acute injection of an intoxicating dose of alcohol to male rats 24 hours prior to breeding with drug-naive females produced no discernible effect on copulatory activity, as reflected in vaginal plugs, but resulted in markedly (>50%) reduced pregnancy rates. Fetal outcome was also markedly affected in offspring sired by alcohol-treated males: litter sizes were appreciably smaller (30%) and fetal mortality was more than 2 times higher than in controls. These results suggest that paternal alcohol use, like maternal alcohol abuse, may adversely affect fertility and fetal outcome.