Q. My husband and I used to be heavy smokers, but we quit several years ago. Will our past smoking affect our ability to conceive now?
A. The answer, for the woman, is yes. For the man it probably won’t make a difference. Unfair perhaps, but that’s because men produce new sperm every few months. Once a man quits smoking he’ll soon be producing sperm that are unaffected by the past habit.
But women who smoke have destroyed some of their eggs. Heavy smokers go through menopause an average of two years earlier. And the loss of eggs can be a critical factor in the ability to conceive, especially as women get older.
At our fertility center, we tell patients to stop smoking for a minimum of two to three months before they proceed with IVF (in vitro fertilization). And that goes for the men, too.
