Fertility Fact: Infertility affects over 7,000,000 women in the United States – up to 13% of female infertility may be caused by smoking – that is over 900,000 cases of infertility!
Smoking Can Delay Conception
Approximately 30% of all women in their reproductive years smoke cigarettes. Studies show that women who smoke experience a delay in conception, up to a 54% higher chance that conception will take a year or longer compared to nonsmokers. The delay in conception correlates with daily quantity of cigarettes smokes. The more cigarettes smoked, the more chemicals enter your body, increasing the rate of follicular depletion and reducing the estrogen in your body. This is also why smokers reach menopause several years earlier than nonsmokers.
Smoking & Miscarriage
The label says it right on the box – smoking and pregnancy don’t mix. Studies have shown chromosomal and DNA damage from smoke exposure increasing birth defects and miscarriages. In fact, one study done for female smokers 14-39 years of age, showed smoking accounted for 16% of miscarriages.
Smoking & Infertility Treatment
Even with infertility treatment, smoking can make conception more challenging. Smokers may need increased medication for ovarian stimulation, may produce a lower number of eggs for retrieval, have increased number of cancelled cycles, and have more cycles with failed fertilization compared to non-smokers.
Like many things – quantity matters. Women who smoked briefly in their lives might experience some decreased success with infertility treatment, and women who smoke larger quantities over many years showed the greatest risk of unsuccessful treatment. The final result is smokers as a group require nearly twice the number of IVF cycles as nonsmokers to conceive.
Need to Quit Smoking?
In addition to the reproductive issues, the risk of cancer is the single largest reason to stop smoking. Shady Grove Fertility physician, Joseph Doyle, MD suggests that “One of the hardest conversations to have is telling a patient who smokes that their chance of success during IVF is half of what it could be. “
The early you stop smoking while trying to conceive the better off you and your baby will be. Counseling, education and encouragement are essential for those that need to kick the nicotine habit. Guide to Quitting Smoking.
If you are experiencing infertility, call Shady Grove Fertility at 1-877-971-7755 to schedule a New Patient Appointment or click here.
Source: The Practice Committee of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (2008). Smoking and infertility. Fertility and Sterility, 90, S254-259.
