Baby Dust

You keep telling yourself, “I’ll quit when I get pregnant. I’ll have to quit, and it will be easier because I have a good reason”. Well, guess what? I’m about to give you a bunch of reasons why you need to quit before you get pregnant, (and this goes for your partner,too!)

The British Medical Association published findings that a woman who smokes has a 40% LESS chance of conception than a non-smoker. And, The American Society for Reproductive Medicine states “the impact of passive cigarette smoke exposure is only slightly smaller than for active smoking”. (download the PDF www.asrm.org/Patients/FactSheets/smoking.pdf for the full report).

Even in a “lab” setting, (IVF), where everything is controlled, success rates of every step are lower when the woman is a smoker, has been a smoker within the past year, or is exposed to second hand smoke. Women who are exposed to smoke produce fewer follicles, have fewer eggs retrieved and have lower fertilization rates during IVF cycles. Also, women who are smokers or are in a smoking environment have a higher rate of miscarriage.

If you’re thinking of quitting just while you are pregnant, think again. Studies have also found that the female offspring of mice which were exposed to the toxins in cigarettes before and after their pregnancies, but not during gestation, showed a whopping 70% decrease in follicles in adult hood. The male offspring showed reduced sperm counts in adulthood as well. Smoking before and after your pregnancy (during lactation) could be setting your child up for infertility problems of their own when they grow up.

And smoking not only affects a woman’s fertility…a recent study in Fertility and Sterility showed up to an 800% rise in sperm production in men who quit smoking. No kidding. Who wouldn’t want 800% more sperm when trying to make a baby? Not only will smoking decrease the number of sperm produced, it will also alter the quality and motility, making conception more difficult. And to make matters worse, smoking can also alter the DNA of sperm. So if you are able to get pregnant, your baby has an increased chance of birth defects, genetic diseases and cancer. Could there be anything else? Geez.

So, as difficult as it is, and it IS difficult, start the process of quitting now. It might take a while to kick the habit. But you, your partner and your baby will be so much healthier when you do.