Smoking & Conception
If you're a smoker and have been thinking about trying to get pregnant, you should know that smoking has been linked to difficulty with conception for both men and women. Becoming aware of the facts about smoking and conception highlights the importance of quitting this habit before you even start trying to conceive.
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The Facts
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Cigarette smoke contains over 4000 chemicals, including nicotine and carbon monoxide. According to a study conducted by the British Medical Association (BMA), some of these chemicals are toxic to the ovaries and testes. In addition, nicotine itself negatively affects not only the way the egg and sperm interact but also the implantation of the fertilized egg.
Women and Conception
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As a woman, smoking affects your ability to conceive in a variety of ways. Cigarette smoking damages your ovaries, ultimately causing your body to lose eggs more quickly. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) states that chemicals in cigarette smoke limit the ability of your ovary cells to produce estrogen (a hormone essential to a healthy pregnancy) and increase the likelihood that your eggs will have genetic abnormalities. According to the BMA, women who smoke experience menopause approximately two years earlier than women who don't smoke.
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Men and Conception
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The primary way smoking affects conception for men relates to the damage to sperm that arises as a result of smoking. According to the ASRM, not only do men who smoke have a lower sperm count but their sperm is more likely to have abnormal shapes than the sperm of men who don't smoke. Nicotine also reduces and changes the normal movement and swimming patterns of sperm. The BMA states that sperm cells' actual genetic material undergoes mutations as a result of exposure to carcinogens present in tobacco smoke.
Delayed Conception and Infertility
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If you smoke, you are more likely to experience both delayed conception and infertility (the inability to conceive after at least 12 months of unprotected sex). According to the BMA, women smokers are two times as likely as nonsmoking women to experience infertility. Regardless of whether you are trying to get pregnant for the first time or have already been pregnant in the past, the more cigarettes you smoke, the more likely you are to experience a delay in becoming pregnant.
Assisted Conception
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Couples who smoke and attempt to get pregnant using methods such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) experience more difficulty conceiving, requiring almost two times as many IVF attempts as nonsmoking couples, according to the ARSM. You are also more likely to experience failed fertilization and implantation, as well as produce fewer eggs when undergoing fertility treatment. Although smoking over a long time period can have a permanent effect on your ability to conceive, the ARSM suggests that stopping smoking at least two months prior to beginning IVF treatment can maximize your chances of being able to conceive as a result of treatment.
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