Four coffees a day can reduce fertility by 75%

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Research reveals that caffeine has a more harmful impact on fertility levels than even alcohol and smoking.

A regular caffeine habit can cut the likelihood of a woman having a baby by as much as three quarters, according to the team at Holland's Radboud University in Nijmegen.

This reduction in fertility levels is greater than that for women who drink more than three times a week, smoke more than one cigarette a day or who are overweight.

The warning over coffee consumption backs up concerns that caffeine can be harmful to fertility.

Experts have always been divided over the impact of the stimulant with some earlier studies showing the impact is not that great.

Other scientists have shown that coffee is good for men because it can boost male fertility by making sperm swim faster. But the latest findings from the Dutch researchers are the most comprehensive yet to show a link between drinking coffee and the chance of women becoming a parent.

The findings, presented at the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology, is based on a 12-year study of 8,669 women with fertility problems.

All had tried but failed to get pregnant using IVF and were hoping to have a baby naturally.

The researchers analysed the impact of lifestyle factors on how successful these women were in getting pregnant. The factors included issues such as weight, age, alcohol intake and how much they smoked.

Sixteen per cent of the women being monitored did eventually get pregnant.

But those who drank coffee significantly reduced the chance of a naturally conceived live birth.

The study was carried out at Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre where the team monitored the women's lifestyles and attempts at conceiving over the 12 years.