Want children? Don’t drink

It had been three months since Jane joined the women in their estate to demonstrate in the streets.

They needed public pressure to help them solve their case. They made placards and invited the media to cover the demonstration. They were demonstrating because they no longer had sex with their husbands. The men were not interested and most of them failed to rise to the occasion. Many families were at the verge of divorce.

“Doctor, the cause of all this evil is alcohol. Our men are married to the bottle. They have abandoned us,” Jane explained.

They had thought that by going to the streets the men would change their behaviour. For a few days after the riot, the men came home slightly early. Most of them were home by around 8pm. However their drunkenness did not change. What they changed was their drinking time. They came home early but drunk and were like dead logs the moment they fell in their beds. The women’s frustration continued.

“In fact for some it got worse and one of us even got assaulted physically for causing public shame to the family,” Jane said.

“So how can I help?” I asked. Jane looked at me blankly.

It was like she was already resigned to her fate. She removed her handkerchief and blew her nose. Then she told me that she wanted a baby but could not get one because for three years, there had been no sex. She was 39 years old and feared that she would soon get into menopause. She had gone to infertility clinics and they did tests on her and found her to be in good health. All fingers pointed to her drunkard husband.

ADVERSE EFFECTS

Jane’s husband was always intoxicated. We know that in the acute stage of alcohol intoxication, a number of sexual dysfunctions happen, the commonest being low libido, and difficulty in arousal and ejaculation. Jane’s husband never had erections.

Sperm production is also affected. Men who drink chronically have low sperm count and deformed sperm. Even if they have sex once in a while with their wives, they may not impregnate their wives.

“Why does alcoholism affect men that adversely doctor?” Jane asked, her eyes red and wet with tears.

The biological basis of the effects of alcohol in men is derangement of sex hormones. Alcohol causes a reduction in testosterone, which is important in enhancing sexual function and the optimal production of sperm.

In fact, chronic use of alcohol leads to feminisation of the male, making them develop skin texture and body structure that resembles a woman. This is because of their low testosterone levels.

We have occasionally heard people say that alcohol removes mental and psychological inhibition, making the drinker sexier in his language and causing him to pursue sexual adventures and fantasies. Scientifically, however, the person may talk and behave in sexually explicit ways but their sexual performance is literally dead. They therefore arouse their partner and leave them hanging. 

Further, the alcoholic tends to misinterpret other’s behaviour, and normal courtesy can be interpreted to mean invitation for sex. Flirting therefore becomes common after taking alcohol. The alcoholic may end up having sex, albeit unsatisfactorily, with people they have not met before due to this misinterpretation of intentions. It is for this reason that alcoholics also commonly cheat.

“Well, my husband has slept around with dozens of women,” Jane said. I referred Jane’s husband to a rehabilitation centre where he lived for six months. As fate would have it, he was already HIV positive and his body immunity was highly compromised. As he went through rehab he developed AIDS and despite very meticulous medical interventions, deteriorated fast and passed on.