Dads and healthy babies

December 2025

The dad's contribution to having a baby has more of an effect than previously thought...

The dad's role in making babies is obvious, but there have been recent studies about the impact of the sperm's contributions to a baby's short- and long-term health.

It is well known that children born of mothers who drink during pregnancy are prone to having Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), which causes various birth defects and developmental delays. The term FAS was first published in 1973, and the first public awareness warning on FAS was issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on June 1, 1977. Today, experts use the term Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) instead of FAS, to recognize the wide spectrum of associated symptoms.

FASD babies can be born with abnormal facial features, crossed-eyes, cleft palate, lower-than-average weight, height, or both, speech delays, cognitive and learning problems, incomplete development of genitalia, central nervous system problems, issues with attention and hyperactivity, poor coordination, etc.

Studies about FASD in the past have been focused on the mother, but recent studies have turned attention to the father's role because some mothers with FASD babies do not drink alcohol. The researchers also wanted to bring more balance into their research since both parents contribute to their baby.

For a number of years now, scientists have started to understand that information from the sperm is transferred through epigenetic modifications, which are changes to DNA* that determine whether a gene is activated or not. These modifications are attached to DNA but don't change the sequence of DNA.

Let's start with the genes -- humans have 46 chromosomes, 23 from the mother, 23 from the father. They contain the DNA that give us our phenotype, or our observable traits: eye color, height, hair color, blood type, etc.

It has only been about 15 years since scientist have been aware of epigenetic modifications, which is the effect of the environment on a gene, whether the gene will be activated or not.

So if the sperm transmits epigenetic information to the baby, then the experience of that sperm even before it fertilizes the egg can have an impact on the baby.

THINK TWICE...

Dr. Michael Golding, a researcher at Texas A&M University, and his team showed a link between each of the parents' alcohol consumption and the baby. They used mice** in their laboratory experiments and showed that a baby can be negatively impacted by exposure to alcohol consumption by either parent and that exposure via both parents has the strongest harmful effect.

In addition, Dr. Golding and his team found that male alcohol consumption before conception can cause placenta-related difficulties, including decreased placenta efficiency. Fewer nutrients from the placenta can result in restricted fetal growth, in part because inefficient placentas try to compensate by becoming overgrown.

Results from their studies also point to accelerated aging in individuals where one or both parents consumed alcohol prior to the individuals' birth. Issues such as high cholesterol, heart problems, arthritis, and early onset dementia can become problems, especially in male offspring, as early as in the individuals' 40's.

Other research has shown that male alcohol consumption reduces the father's fertility, including reducing the rate of success in IVF (in-vitro fertilization) procedures. And there is growing scientific interest in how sperm exposure to other products (medications, DDT, etc.) could affect the health of the child. Scientists are working on developing new biomarkers to measure sperm health, to try to identify epigenetic mutations that can have negative effects on a newborn.

While scientists continue to carry out further research, it would be prudent for couples planning to conceive to both refrain from drinking prior to and during pregnancy. Working together to lead a healthier lifestyle can mean building a good foundation for the child because healthy living benefits also get passed on generationally.

Dr. Golding notes that sperm is made during the course of two months and it takes at least a month for an individual's body to go through an alcohol withdrawal process, so his current estimated recommendation for refraining from drinking is at least 3 months prior to conception. Of course, stopping alcohol intake earlier will only bring health benefits earlier!

*DNA is deoxyribonucleic acid, the molecule inside each of our cells that contains our genetic information. It has a double helix structure containing pairs of chemicals referred to as A, T, G, and C.

**Why are mice used? Mice are often used for ethical reasons (it would be unethical to experiment on humans knowing that damage could be done), because mice experience many of the same diseases as humans, these mammals have the same types of organs and bodily systems as humans, they have about 95% of the same genes as us that code for proteins, and because they have short life spans.

References and Resources:

Texas A&M on father's alcohol consumption before conception

https://vetmed.tamu.edu/news/press-releases/fathers-alcohol-linked-to-offspring-defects/

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Archive page about FASD birth defects

https://archive.cdc.gov/www_cdc_gov/ncbddd/birthdefects/surveillancemanual/photo-atlas/photoatlas.html

Radio-Canada on the effect of the father's drinking habits on newborns

https://ici.radio-canada.ca/ohdio/premiere/emissions/penelope/segments/chronique/480996/sante-procreation-maladie-enfant-parentalite-pere-homme

Children's National on the most common symptoms of FASD

https://www.childrensnational.org/get-care/health-library/fetal-alcohol-syndrome-and-other-teratogens

National Library of Medicine on the history of awareness of the link between alcohol and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6405809/

Science Direct article on the discovery and evolution of FASD