Reproductive Variables and Alcohol Consumption of the C57BL/Crgl Female Mouse

Various investigators have reported that forced ingestion of alcohol by experimental animals has a detrimental effect on reproductive capacity and on progeny. This study was undertaken to test whether or not high levels of voluntary alcohol ingestion would have similar adverse effects. Twenty C57BL/Crgl female mice were pretested for alcohol preference in a 2-bottle situation, one bottle containing a 10% (v/ v) ethanol solution and the other water; 18 additional animals were provided with water only. All were then exposed to males with water only available and placed back in the original conditions when a copulatory plug was detected. Bottle positions were reversed daily. Females that initially showed a position habit when presented with a choice between alcohol and water had a significantly higher frequency of pregnancy block and other types of reproductive failure than mice that showed a more consistent pattern of alcohol choice ( 80% versus 30%). Premating level of alcohol intake of females delivering viable litters averaged 3.8 ml per day, or 76% of total liquid consumed. The amount of alcohol consumed increased gradually during gestation and lactation to twice premating quantities (1.5 times amount per unit of body weight, but a decline to 57% of total liquid intake) by days 10—14 postpartum, paralleling a probable similar increase in liver size and metabolic capacity. As compared to water controls, male offspring of animals on alcohol choice showed less defecation in a modified open field when tested on day 24 postpartum. At this age the offspring as well as the dam may have been drinking significant quantities of alcohol. Other measures of offspring behavior and development were not significantly affected. Over-all, it appears that voluntary ingestion of alcohol even in quantities that approach metabolic capacity did not adversely affect reproductive capacity, pup development or behavior.