How Smoking affects my fertility

Does smoking affect my ability to have a child?

Yes. Smoking can lead to problems with fertility in both men and women. Erectile dysfunction and pregnancy complication rates are increased with smoking. Also smoking increases the risk for heart, vascular, and lung disease.

Does smoking affect my eggs or sperm? 

Yes. Chemicals like nicotine, cyanide, and carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke speed up the loss rate of eggs. Once eggs die off, they cannot regenerate or be replaced. This means that menopause occurs 1 to 4 years earlier in women who smoke (compared with non-smokers). 

Male smokers can suffer decreased sperm quality with lower numbers of sperm and motility and increased numbers of abnormally shaped sperm. Smoking will also decrease the sperm’s ability to fertilize eggs. 

Does smoking impact my ability to conceive? 

Yes. The risk for fertility problems increases with the number of cigarettes smoked daily. Women who smoke do not conceive as efficiently as nonsmokers. Infertility rates in both male and female smokers are about twice the rate of infertility found in nonsmokers.

Even an IVF may not be able to fully overcome smoking’s effects on fertility. Female smokers need more ovary-stimulating medications during IVF and still have fewer eggs at retrieval time and have 30% lower pregnancy rates compared with IVF patients who do not smoke. 

Smoking damages the genetic material in eggs and sperm, miscarriage and offspring birth-defect rates are higher among patients who smoke. Smokeless tobacco also leads to increased miscarriage rates. Women who smoke are more likely to conceive a chromosomally unhealthy pregnancy (Down syndrome) than nonsmoking mothers.

Will smoking affect my children? 

Yes. Men whose mothers smoked half a pack of cigarettes or more a day had lower sperm counts. Smoking during pregnancy also can lead to growth restriction of the baby before birth. Children whose parents smoke are at increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and for developing asthma. 

What happen if my partner smokes? Could this affect my fertility? 

Yes. Women exposed to secondhand smoke can suffer all the health risks mentioned. 

Will my chances for conceiving and having a healthy pregnancy improve if I stop smoking? 

Yes. Stop smoking can improve fertility. The rate of pregnancy complications due to smoking decreases the longer a person has not smoked. 

Quitting smoking can be difficult but studies show that the chance for success is much higher if you work with your health-care provider and/or a support group.

Bibliography:

American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM)

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