Trying to conceive? Well, all you smokers should be aware that smoking that cigarette is going to greatly decrease your chances of pregnancy. Smoking not only has the detrimental effects that you hear about all the time, like cancer, emphysema, and COPD; but it also has a huge effect on your reproductive system. The nicotine from cigarettes causes your blood vessels to constrict and limit the flow of blood to your ovaries. Decreased blood flow to the ovaries not only causes issues with your hormones, but the decreased oxygenation from the blood ages your eggs as well. On top of the decreased blood flow to your ovaries, smoking increases your chances for ectopic pregnancy. Nicotine has an effect on your fallopian tubes and causes them to contract making the embryo more likely to implant in the tube.
Men that smoke also have issues with conceiving. It can cause decreased sperm counts, increased sperm DNA fragmentation and poor morphology, which also hinder your likelihood of pregnancy. Men that smoke around women that don’t can also hinder a women’s fertility with their secondhand smoke. One study said that the secondhand smoke will decrease your likelihood of getting pregnant with IVF by 46%.
Interested in reading more about the effects of smoking? Check out this article.
