Smoking
Q: Smoking can…
- Cause a woman's eggs to die off faster
- Decrease sperm’s ability to fertilize eggs
- Lead to miscarriage
- All of the above
Chemicals (such as nicotine, cyanide, and carbon monoxide) in cigarette smoke speed up the loss rate of eggs. Unfortunately, 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 counts (numbers of sperm) and motility (sperm’s ability to move) and increased numbers of abnormallyshaped sperm. Smoking might also decrease the sperm’s ability to fertilize eggs.
Because 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.
Find Out More:
What's New at ASRM
Resources
- It takes longer for a smoker to get pregnant.
- Consumo de tabaco e infertilidad (Smoking and infertility)
- Smoking and Infertility
- Smoking and infertility 吸烟和不孕不育
- ¿Las toxinas en el ambiente afectarán mi capacidad de tener hijos? (Will environmental toxins affect may ability to have a baby?)
- Why am I not responding to the drugs for ovarian stimulation?
- Optimizing Male Fertility
- Optimización de la fertilidad natural (Optimizing natural fertility)
- Quick Facts About Infertility
- Datos Sobre la Infertilidad
- Stress and infertility 压力与不孕不育
- Optimización de la fertilidad masculina (Optimizing male fertility)
- Preparing for In Vitro Fertilization (IVF): Lifestyle Factors - a patient education micro-video
- Does My Age Affect My Fertility?