TTC, DH is 41 and has been an on and off smoker

[sunshineoverthesea]

We are trying for our third and I am worried about risks due to DH's smoking, it hasn't bothered me in the past, my dad smoked at had 5 healthy kids between the ages of 25 and 39 but as my DH is over 40 I feel apprehensive especially since I am now 37.

He has always stopped when I was pregnant and when we had newborns but his work is demanding and he smokes around 5 a day, he knows its bad, taboo, not healthy, tried patches, vapes etc but always end up with cold sores for some reason when he smokes he doesn't get cold sores, random.

Anyways, I'm not asking you to tell me to ask him to stop I know that already, what I want to know is if smokers past a certain age are still able to have healthy babies, that's all pregnant women/expecting couple want at the end of the day....

Yep! All but one now in their mid 50s to late 70s. One of my uncles died in his early 70s but that was from Lewy Bodies. He smoked but bizarrely enough, there's a study that suggests heaving smoking reduced the risk of it. 🙃

@sunshineoverthesea had them between 30 and 40.
I think some people are being a bit harsh on here tbh 5 cigarettes a day although not ideal isn't that horrendous. As long as he's not smoking in front of the kids then I don't see an issue for them.

My MIL smokes about the same but when she has the grandkids she either doesn't smoke at all or goes to top of the garden.

My husband smokes and has done since he was a teenager, we've been together (12 years), although he has drastically cut down and now only has about 5 a day - he's almost 35.
I used to smoke but haven't since I fell pregnant with our eldest who is 8, our youngest is almost 3 and I'm 9 weeks pregnant.

I've never heard of the risk of men smoking to conception ?

It's a massive issue because smokers breathe out carbon monoxide which can increase the risk of sids in babies. Also second hand smoking can cause a massive issue for children and cause all types of things like asthma etc. Not to mention what a bad example it is.
Personally I think if you can't give up smoking for your children then you aren't deserving enough to be a parent. I do understand not everything is black and white though.
I've seen many pregnant women puffing away and mothers with prams smoking and I think it's absolutely disgusting.