(KMOX) — While it has been long known that women should avoid alcohol during pregnancy, a new study published Wednesday suggests future fathers should cut their consumption as well ... at least six months prior to conceiving a child.
The study that appears in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology says men should not drink six months prior to a baby's conception in order to decrease the likelihood of congenital heart defects in the child.
Fathers who drank three months prior to conception were 44% more likely to have babies with heart defects. Binge drinking men were 52% more likely to have children with congenital heart disease.
"Binge drinking by would-be parents is a high risk and dangerous behavior that not only may increase the chance of their baby being born with a heart defect, but also greatly damages their own health," study author Jiabi Qin, of Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, China, said in a statement.
The study says men should not drink six months before conception, and women shouldn't drink a year before getting pregnant in order to lower the baby's heart risks.