In today’s stressful world, particularly in an office or work environment, it would be right to say that stress and chaos are a way of life. To relax, many people who work today smoke. This, however, is one of the serious factors that directly impacts fertility in women because of their complex reproductive system. If you are one of those women finding it difficult to conceive, you may want to seek help from one of the best fertility specialists in Odisha.

Do you know that approximately 13.5% of all females from all over the world are smokers? India has the second-highest rate of smokers (Source). Smoking can affect female reproductive health. The egg count can decrease. The females might reach menopause earlier. Harmful chemicals of cigarette smoke, nicotine, and heavy metals can affect the functioning of the ovaries in females. Both the health and fertility of females are affected by smoking. Females can also affect their own fertility in many other ways. How? Let's explain it all in this article.

Various Effects of Smoking on the Health of the Female Reproductive System

It affects your fertility by damaging your ovaries. It accelerates the loss of eggs and affects hormone levels. This, in turn, reduces fertility, creates difficulties in conception, and accelerates the aging process of your reproductive system. It is very important to know about these points so that you will be able to preserve your fertility.

Accelerated ovarian aging

Cigarette smoke exposes the body to toxic substances that have the ability to cause damage to ovarian tissues. The acceleration of the loss of ovarian follicles is due to the substances, which are egg reserves in the ovaries. Women have a finite number of egg reserves that diminish as years go by. However, smoking speeds up this process, hence leading to earlier menopause and reproductive life.

Hormonal imbalance

Besides, it affects the production of important reproductive hormones in the body, including estrogen and progesterone. Both of these are considered vital for ovulation, implantation, and maintaining a pregnancy. Hormonal imbalance leads to fluctuating menstrual cycles, poor development of eggs, and an escalation in reproductive disorders like PCOS. If you have some issues related to fertility and hormonal imbalance, then an infertility specialist in Odisha is your best solution.

Reproductive disorders can be enhanced.

Smokers are very susceptible to conditions like endometriosis and ectopic pregnancies. Endometriosis may be defined as the appearance of tissue that somewhat favors the lining of the uterus but grows in various locations other than where it is expected to be found. This may greatly affect a woman's fertility. Moreover, it can make conceptions pathological because of the poor blood supply in the pelvic region.

Ovarian retrogression

The ovarian reserve features in determining the number of normal eggs a woman has. Smokers have low amounts of anti-Müllerian hormone, which plays a very important part in assessing the woman's ovarian reserve. This means that their pool of normal eggs gets depleted faster. Thus, smoking destroys fertility levels to such an extent that it becomes quite hard for the woman to conceive either naturally or by the process of assisted conception. With the best IVF clinic in Bhubaneswar, you will be able to overcome your fertility issue.

• Damaging egg quality

Smoking can reduce the quality of eggs, as well as their production. The substances that make up cigarette smoke can damage the eggs' DNA. Such damage can lead to problems with conceiving, increased chances of miscarriage, and abnormalities in the number of chromosomes of the embryos. Quality impacts the viability of reproduction, which is usually one of the main contributors to infertility among couples; this may reduce the effectiveness of infertility treatments.

Conclusion

Smoking is very detrimental to ovarian function and diminishes the possibility of becoming pregnant. Chemicals in cigarettes speed up the aging procedure in the ovaries, diminishing the reserve of eggs, interfering with the balance of hormones, and worsening the quality of the eggs. These factors make it difficult to achieve a natural pregnancy, increase the chances of infertility, and may lead to pregnancy complications or early menopause.

Additionally, smoking lowers the success rate of fertility treatments. Quitting smoking, on the other hand, is quite helpful for the maintenance of ovarian function and pregnancy, although damage might be irreparable. If you smoke or know someone who does, quitting is an important factor in maintaining fertility and ovarian function.

Disclaimer: The information on the site is online for research-based educational purposes only and does not substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult a medical professional or healthcare provider for medical advice, diagnoses, or treatment.