Can Smoking Lead to Infertility?

For years, people have known that smoking leads to a multitude of different health problems. However, people still persist on starting the habit. Nicotine is highly addictive, which can make it feel impossible to quit. However, if you and your partner are having a child, you will likely need to kick the habit before you even become pregnant.

For men who smoke, the chemicals in the cigarettes can cause them to have lower-quality sperm. Smoking can cause sperm count to go down and decreases sperm motility, which is the sperm’s ability to move and seek the ovum. Likewise, smoking can increase abnormalities in sperm shape and function in addition to passing secondhand smoke to their partners, which can reduce their fertility.

Women who smoke can cause damage to their ovaries. Their eggs will also have a higher risk of genetic abnormalities, and ingredients in cigarette smoke have been shown to interfere with the ovary’s ability to produce estrogen. In addition, smoking can reduce a woman’s reproductive potential by hastening her egg loss. Smoking women might also experience menopause sooner than women who don’t smoke.

If you and your partner do conceive, there is also the problem of smoking during pregnancy. Women who smoke have a higher rate of both miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy. Likewise, women who smoke throughout the pregnancy often produce children born prematurely and with low birth weights. These children also have a higher rate of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Try adopting healthy habits now to prevent your child from suffering later. You can also speak to our specialist about what other good habits you can pick up or bad habits you should forgo when trying to conceive a child. Our Boca Raton state-of-the-art fertility center is clean and welcoming with a warm, supportive atmosphere. We have been helping people achieve their dreams of becoming parents for years. Our fertility treatment services and up-to-date technology have enabled us to maintain our high pregnancy rates as we continue to improve on our treatments. Whether you’re in need of in-vitro fertilization, ovulation induction, or fertility surgery, we can help tailor our services to meet your individual fertility needs. Let our highly qualified doctors, technicians, and embryologists see what they can do for you.

Contact us at (888) 819-5177 or fill out our online form to request an appointment today. We look forward to speaking with you.