TTC and smoking?

[curiousgeorgie]

When I was TTC I gave up smoking and it happened fairly quickly... my DSIL has been TTC while smoking (given up now she has her BFP!!! :)) and it took her around the same amount of time...

Does it actually directly affect your fertility? Or is that more for males and sperm count?
And would you need to have quit for a long time for it to make any sort of difference anyway?

Please could someone a bit more knowledgeable join our discussion :)

Not sure affects fertility in women as much as men, think its just better for baby once your pregnant. Must admit I conceived mine while smoking, then spent the rest of the time trying to cut the fags out, not ideal i know, so at least you did it right way about.
On saying that if its worked you both no what to do for TTC second time around! Good luck to you DSIL!

It does affect women as reduces the blood flow to the uterus which makes implantation less likely. Also once you are pregnant, it can increase your chance of miscarriage. If you don't have problems getting pregnant, it's no biggie really, just not great for baby once you are pregnant.

It does affect women as reduces the blood flow to the uterus which makes implantation less likely. Also once you are pregnant, it can increase your chance of miscarriage. If you don't have problems getting pregnant, it's no biggie really, just not great for baby once you are pregnant.

This is why yoga and accupuncture are supposed to be good for conception, they increase blood flow to the whole area.

I know someone who is ttc with smoking, her ivf has failed and she is slowly coming to the conclusion she needs to give up. Her DH smokes too and has a low sperm count, which is exacerbated by the fags.

Smoking ages you prematurely. This includes your reproductive system. Age = less good when you are ttc. I am surprised someone who is smoking has been able to have ivf - I thought you had to have both given up? And it definitely does affect sperm count in men.

Of course loads of smokers get pregnant all the time. But if you are having difficulty it is an absolute obvious no brainer to try giving up smoking.

It's well documented (just google) that smokers have a lower success rate (28% lower) at IVF than non smokers. This is the reason why most clinics won't treat women who are still smoking. It's thought that smoking affects egg quality and therefore lowers fertilisation rates. There was also a study that showed that a 20 year old smoker had the same reproductive age as a 30 year old non smoker. Smoking also has a very negative effect on sperm quality and on numbers and there is a link between early miscarriage and smoking fathers (probably because of damage to the sperm which leads to mc).

There are plenty of smokers who have no problems getting pregnant though, but the evidence does show that you give yourself (and baby) the best chance if you are smoke free.