FACTS ABOUT SMOKING & INFERTILITY
- If you are smoking & trying to get pregnant stop smoking now.
- Quitting may be one of the best thing you can do for your health & fertility.
When you smoke the harmful substances spread throughout your body & affect your organs.
Harmful substances of cigarette smoke:
- 4,000 chemical compounds
- 43 carcinogens or poisons
- 300 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
- Methyl isocyanate (lethal poison)
- Benzene, (a potent toxicant)
- Nicotine & its metabolites, cotinine
- Polonium 210 (a carcinogenic radioactive element)
- Cadmium
WOMEN AND SMOKING :
The percentage of reproductive age women into the habit of smoking is considerably growing more so in the high society urban population.
This can affect fertility & cause
- Ovulation problems decreasing the quality of eggs
- Genetic issues- because harmful components in cigarettes cause woman’s eggs to be more prone to genetic abnormalities.
- Damage to egg (Ovarian reserve) or premature menopause! Research indicate that cigarette smoking is harmful to woman’s ovaries and the degree of harm is dose dependent and is affected by the amount and the period of time a woman smokes. Smoking accelerates a loss of eggs and reproductive function and may pre-pone the time of menopause by several years.
- Increased risk of miscarriages, peri-natal mortality and attention deficit disorder in the child
The incidence of sudden infant death syndrome also increases with smoking. - Increased susceptibility to infections! Smoking has an effect on the immune system making it easier for sexually transmitted pathogens to enter the body.
- Increased risk of cancer
MEN AND SMOKING :
Don’t let your fertility go up in smoke!
Smoking causes fertility problems in men- Men who smoke cigarettes or use any other form of tobacco have following issues-
- Low sperm count
- Sperm motility problem- motility is the ability of the sperm to swim towards and penetrate the egg
- Smoking affects the DNA in sperm and cause genetic abnormalities in the child
QUIT SMOKING :
If you smoke frequently cotinine will usually be present in your urine for 4 days with regular exposure to nicotine, cotinine may be detectable for up to 3 weeks after your last exposure.
A positive urine test depends on when you provide a urine sample relative to the last time you ingested nicotine.
Does passive smoking matter?
Passive smoking is as bad as an active smoking.
It was astonishing that in one study, 84% of women reporting themselves as non-smokers and with a non-smoking partner had detectable levels of cotinine (harmful derivative of nicotine) in their follicular (ovary) fluids, probably because these women were exposed environmentally to smoke at their work places.
QUIT SMOKING TO MAXIMIZE YOUR FERTILITY IN THE NEW YEAR!
- V- Vitamins and minerals
- I- Immunize
- T- Tests
- A- Ask about genetic and obstetric history and spousal abuse
- L- Lose cigarettes, alcohol and recreational drugs
- M – Medical conditions and medications
- O- Occupational exposures
- M- Modify: diet, exercise, stress, employment, caffeine intake
