Are you a smoker looking into IVF- then QUIT!

If you are a smoker I am sure you know all the risks that it can cause to a baby if you smoke while pregnant, but have you ever thought about how smoking effects your fertility? Now I know we all say look at all the crack whores who get knocked up on accident! If they can get pregnant then so can I. Beleive me I have thought that very same thing. But honeslty, smoking can affect your fertility and it has a big impact on your success rates of IVF.
Smoking while undergoing IVF can significatnely lessen your changes of concieveing, in fact smoking can add up to 10 years to women's reproductive age, so a 30 year old non- smoker has the same chance of getting pregnant then a 20 year old smoker.

Dutch researchers did a study with 8,400 women who had undergone their first cycle of IVF. All were aged between 20 and 40 and 43% were smokers. It was found that overall, the birth rate among smokers was 28% lower than non-smokers. Furthermore for those who did become pregnant, the miscarriage rate was higher among smokers (21%), compared to non-smokers (16%).


Other studies have shown that there is only a decrease in IVF success rates when a woman is a heavy smoker, smoking more then 10 cigarettes a day. Researchers have stated that the large amounts of tobacco in the body prevent the uterus from being receptive to the embryo, therefore making implatnation more difficult for the embryo.

So while there is no conclusive evidence, it is important to live a healthy lifestyle, so if you are a smoker, light or heavy, and you are getting ready to undergo IVF, STOP SMOKING NOW!