Sexual Health - Women

Immediate effects of alcohol use

Being drunk increases the chances of having unsafe sex (without a condom), having sex that is later regretted or experiencing sexual assault [47, 48] as alcohol impairs judgment and lowers inhibitions.[4] Such sexual experiences are likely to also increase the risk of getting a sexually transmitted infection[49] or having an unplanned pregnancy.

Long-term effects of alcohol use

Chronic heavy alcohol use can lead to reduced fertility and can make periods heavy, irregular or stop altogether.[14, 29]Consuming alcohol while pregnant may increase the risk of miscarriage,[51, 52] low birth weight,[30] stillbirth and premature birth.[9, 53] It can also cause significant abnormalities in the unborn, developing baby (FASDFetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Consuming alcohol while pregnant may cause significant abnormalities in the unborn, developing baby (fetal alcohol spectrum disorder). Children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, who were exposed to alcohol while in the womb, can have a range of problems including poor growth/small size, facial abnormalities, heart defects, brain damage, developmental delay and social, emotional, behavioural and mental deficits.).[4, 30, 53, 54]