Smoking cigarettes has been linked to a wide range of diseases including throat cancer, respiratory diseases and lung cancer. Researchers have also shared about the dangers of smoking by pregnant mothers to their children. Despite knowing the dangers of smoking most pregnant women only quit after pregnancy is confirmed for the sake of their baby’s health.

Many women are unaware that continued smoking may contribute to their struggles with infertility. Medical studies have shown that women who smoke are 60% more likely to struggle with infertility than nonsmokers. Several links between smoking and reproductive issues make it difficult for the body to support pregnancy.

Smoking disrupts normal ovarian functions as it reduces the concentrations of female hormones and reduces the number of mature ova that can be fertilized.  Smoking also introduces toxic substances to a woman’s ova thus killing them and reducing their number. These toxic substances can reduce the egg quality making them develop abnormally if fertilized. Reduction in ova quality could make it even more difficult for doctors to retrieve eggs for In Vitro Fertilization (IVF).

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Smoking affects women’s reproduction systems in that increases the risks of complications like ectopic pregnancy. Ectopic pregnancy occurs when a fertilized egg implants somewhere outside the uterus mostly on one of the fallopian tubes. The fertilized egg cannot survive, and the pregnancy cannot continue since any growth is likely to burst the fallopian tube and or damage other tissues. According to Mayo Clinic, women who smoke severally before conception are likely to develop an ectopic pregnancy. Quitting smoking ahead of trying to conceive actively reduces the risk of an ectopic pregnancy.

According to studies, even a minimal amount of smoking can be damaging to a woman. A study that dates to over 50 years of smoking data records that even smoking one cigarette a day was enough to raise the risk of stroke and heart disease. Other research has also shown the negative impacts on fertility even in women who smoked just a few cigarettes per day.

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