Despite all its known harms and side effects, smoking is a bad habit that we unfortunately encounter frequently in society. In addition to its life-threatening side effects such as lung cancer, bladder tumor, respiratory problems, and cardiovascular occlusion, smoking is an important cause of infertility in men and women.
Today, it is estimated that 25% of women of childbearing age smoke, and it is caused by women. It has been shown that smoking is the cause of infertility in 13% of patients who consult a doctor due to infertility. Studies comparing women who smoke and do not smoke have shown that the rate of infertility is 10 times higher in women who smoke. It is expected that 90% of women will become pregnant within a month and at the end of 1 year. It has also been shown that the average pregnancy time in women who smoke is 6-12 months longer.
So how does smoking affect reproduction in women? Cigarette consumption causes a decrease in estrogen hormone levels. As the estrogen hormone decreases, the functioning of the ovaries also decreases. In order to make the ovaries work harder, the FSH hormone, which causes the eggs to crack, is secreted more. This not only disrupts the hormonal harmony required for pregnancy, but also prevents the limited number of follicles in the female ovaries from maturing and causes them to deplete more quickly. As a result of all these, infertility or difficult pregnancy occurs.
Smoking also causes deterioration in sperm quality in men. In order for pregnancy to occur, sperm must travel from the woman's vagina (reservoir) to the cervix, pass through the cervix, and find and fertilize the egg inside the uterus. Even though a small number of sperm can theoretically achieve this, in reality there must be at least 20 million sperm per milliliter, and half of these sperm must be motile. Very few of the many and motile sperms can pass through the cervix and reach the uterus. The sperm that reach the uterus must also have the ability to find the egg, pass through the sheath surrounding the egg, and fertilize it. The test that measures this is morphology and there are two different measurement methods. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria 60% of total sperm, and 4% according to Kruger standards, should have normal morphology.
The sperm count in men who smoke is 20% lower than in non-smokers. Again, the molecules in cigarettes cause a decrease in sperm motility. In this way, it becomes difficult for sperm to reach the egg. But smoking shows its real effect by disrupting the sperm's ability to fertilize the egg, that is, by disrupting its morphology. Deterioration in morphology makes it difficult to have a child by normal means and also reduces the chance of success of assisted reproductive methods (insemination and in vitro fertilization).
Therefore, smoking is a preventable cause of infertility.
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