Why is there a rise in trends in smoking these days- even among educated youngsters? Though majority of them are aware that consuming tobacco (chewing and smoking) might pose a threat to fertility and several other health issues, but the rising trend and change in lifestyle are making them addicted to it.  

Reasons:

  • Is it peer pressure?
  • A need to survive and socially fit in society ?

How smoking affects fertility?

1. Smoking is bad for your health and also can decrease the chances of becoming pregnant and having a healthy baby.

2. Smokers take longer to conceive than non-smokers and are more likely to have fertility problems.

3. Types of smoking-

Active and passive smoking   

Active is when one is himself or herself smoking and passive is when one is exposed to smoke by others. Its been observed that passive smoking (inhaling someone else’s smoke) is only slightly less harmful to fertility than active smoking.

How to quit smoking?

Pregnant women who smoke can find it more difficult to quit if they have a partner who smokes; so both need counselling where after effects are explained to them. It needs family support as well.

Stages of Reproduction affected

Smoking affects  various stages - including egg and sperm maturation, hormone production, embryo transport, and the environment in the uterus.

It can also damage the DNA in both eggs and sperm.    

Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of pregnancy complications, low birth weight, and birth defects.     

Exposure to cigarette smoking during pregnancy can impact on the development of a female foetus’ ovaries.   

Smoking increases a woman’s chance of experiencing a miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy. 

The risk of miscarriage increases with the amount smoked (1% increase in risk per cigarette smoked per day).      

Women who smoke reach menopause almost two years earlier than non-smokers and women who are exposed to second-hand smoke reach menopause more than a year earlier.

What Impact Quitting of smoking has?

  • Stopping smoking can improve natural fertility  within a year of quitting.    
  • Women who quit smoking before conception or within the first three months of pregnancy reduce their risks of their baby being born prematurely.
  • Women who stop smoking early in their pregnancy have babies with similar birth-weights to those of non-smokers.