Quit Smoking for Your Children

Smoking is a risk factor for infertility. Quitting smoking dramatically improves your chance to conceive.

The chemicals found in cigarettes adversely affect many of the processes required for a successful pregnancy such as egg and sperm maturation, hormone production, sperm count and motility, and embryo transport. Cigarette smoke may also lead to early menopause in women or create complications in female smokers looking to undergo in-vitro-fertilization (IVF) and may reduce their chances of a successful procedure by as much as 30 percent compared to nonsmokers.

Quitting smoking can immediately improve your natural fertility. And, although women can’t reverse or recover the loss of eggs, the rate of complications around conceiving will decrease the longer you refrain from smoking. Giving up cigarettes before conception or within the first three months of pregnancy reduces the risk of premature birth to that on par with non-smokers.

Look to start your quit this Monday, and use the QSQM Quit Plan to find a quit buddy, pinpoint your triggers, and manage your cravings.