Is it true that women who are passive smokers are at risk of infertility?

Cigarettes are not only a danger to those who smoke actively, but also passive smokers. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes that cigarette exposure caused 41,000 deaths in nonsmokers. Passive smoking women are suspected of having a hard time having children, aka infertility. However, is it true that women who become passive smokers find it difficult to get pregnant?

Is it true that women who become passive smokers are at risk of infertility?

Did you know that one cigarette contains 4,000 chemicals when burned? Yes, 250 of these chemicals can cause cancer. Not only cause health problems for smokers, the smoke that arises can also cause health problems for passive smokers.

Men and women who are around people who smoke will become passive smokers and the impact on women can cause infertility or difficulty getting pregnant.

For example, when you chat with a coworker who is smoking. Cigarette smoke is not only inhaled by the smoker, but also by you as a passive smoker beside him.

Additionally, according to a report published on Annals Thoracic Medicine , cigarette smoke can stick to various objects, such as clothes, sofas, carpets, or curtains. This allows the chemicals in cigarettes to move and be inhaled by other people even if they are no longer in close proximity to the smoker.

As previously mentioned, women who become passive smokers are said to have a higher risk of experiencing infertility, aka infertility.

A 2000 study chaired by W. Christopher L. Ford, PhD, showed that women who inhaled secondhand smoke as second-hand smoke from those around them had more difficulty conceiving or being infertile. Ford said, "Exposure to secondhand smoke makes it seem as if you are smoking, and you can even inhale more cigarette smoke."

After further research, the results show that women who for a year avoid exposure to cigarettes, women have a higher chance of becoming pregnant than women who become passive smokers.

How can smoking affect fertility?

Smoking is associated with various fertility problems, one of which is infertility in women who become passive smokers. Allegedly, women who become passive smokers may experience difficulty getting pregnant. However, this is not the only effect that can be felt by female passive smokers.

Some of the effects of secondhand smoke that may be felt by passive smoking women who are planning a pregnancy, include:

The number of eggs decreases because the eggs age prematurely.
DNA damage to ovarian follicles (where the egg develops and matures).

For those of you who are pregnant, cigarette smoke can also affect pregnancy, such as:

Problems with the body passages, including blockages that make it difficult for sperm to meet the egg. This condition increases the risk of an ectopic pregnancy (pregnancy outside the womb).
Egg cells are damaged due to exposure to cigarette chemicals, causing miscarriage.

The problem is, the bad effects such as difficulty getting pregnant or even infertility that are felt are the same as those experienced by people who actively smoke. This means that even if you don't smoke, your body reacts as if you are a smoker.

The reason is, if you are close to active smokers, the cigarette smoke they inhale can also stick to clothes, hair, and other objects that stick to your body.

How does cigarette smoke affect pregnancy?

Not only are they sterile, even female passive smokers may experience miscarriages in trials in vitro fertilization (IVF). IVF is a medical procedure for getting a child, also known as IVF program. Imagine, you have tried to carry out certain medical procedures to have a child. But cigarette smoke that you don't even inhale can mess things up.

The effect of cigarette smoke can not only cause a female passive smoker to be infertile or difficult to get pregnant. Even if you "get" pregnant even once, secondhand smoke can also affect your pregnancy. For example, even if you are not infertile, you will be more susceptible to miscarriage as a secondhand smoke.

Even when you have a successful birth, there is a chance that your child will have physical defects at birth. Therefore, instead of becoming a female passive smoker and experiencing various fertility problems such as difficulty getting pregnant, or pregnancy problems such as miscarriage and birth defects, you should stay away from all sources of cigarette smoke.

Especially if you are an active smoker, it would be better if you quit smoking for your health and the environment. Of course you don't want it to be the cause of people who become passive smokers around you to experience various health problems.

How to reduce the risk of infertility in women who are passive smokers

Actually, avoiding exposure to cigarette smoke is not only necessary for women who are worried about their fertility. Remember, cigarette smoke has a negative impact on other body organs, not only makes it difficult for women passive smoking to get pregnant.

What you can do to reduce the risk of fertility problems as secondhand smoke is reduce exposure to secondhand smoke. You are better off not spending too much time with other people who smoke in order to reduce the risk of infertility or difficulty getting pregnant.

Not only that, it is also okay for you to ask other people around you to put out cigarettes because this can cause you to be infertile as a female passive smoker. However, if you are an active smoker and not a passive one, try to quit the habit.

If you are secondhand smoke because your partner smokes, try to talk about this. Especially if you are in a pregnant program and crave the presence of a child. Help your partner to get out of this bad habit, so you don't have to worry about being infertile because of being a female passive smoker.

"You may need to ask your partner to consult a gynecologist," advises Sarah Vij, MD, an obstetrician at the Cleveland Clinic.

Doctors can provide an understanding of how smoking can affect your fertility as a secondhand smoke for women who are at risk of infertility or difficulty getting pregnant. Not only that, the doctor will also provide further advice to protect the health of the prospective mother and baby.

As much as possible stay away from cigarette smoke from colleagues, family members, or other people around you. In order not to be infertile due to being a female passive smoker, use a mask to reduce cigarette exposure as well as air pollution that can pose a risk to your health.