Fertility friendly lifestyle choices
Tobacco smoking has been linked to reduced fertility in both women and men. In addition, a recent British study has found an association between smoking and stillbirths, low birthweight babies, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). A woman who smokes is likely to have less chance of becoming pregnant and giving birth when treated with in vitro fertilization (IVF) than a woman who doesn't smoke. This is especially true if she smokes twenty or more cigarettes a day. A mechanism that may link cigarette smoking and reduced pregnancy rates following IVF is the observation that smoking appears to accelerate the rate of egg loss. Women who smoke have the elevated hormone levels that indicate a depleted supply of eggs and prematurely aged follicles.
For men, anything that may lead to atherosclerosis, such as untreated diabetes or hypertension or even health habits such as smoking and a high-fat diet, may damage blood vessels and impair blood flow, leading to impotence. A good blood supply to the penis is necessary to achieve an erection.
Marijuana has been linked to an inability to perform sexually and to diminished fertility. It also has been associated with increased levels of female hormones in men and to the development of abnormally shaped sperm. This has the effect of reducing the production of LH and therefore decreasing the levels of the male hormone testosterone.
Cocaine may have a negative impact on sperm development. Recent animal experiments have shown that it damages the cells that produce sperm.
Steroids commonly used by men to build more muscular bodies can also inhibit the ability to have a baby. Thought by some to improve sexual performance, they actually act as a male contraceptive by depressing hormone secretion and interfering with normal sperm production.
Men should avoid using a testosterone patch, pills, or shots unless they are under a physician's supervision. In addition, men should be aware that their use of testosterone may have the effect of depressing or shutting off the secretion of follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone, which govern the production of sperm.
In most cases, if you stop using these substances, sperm production eventually returns to normal, although it can take at least one full cycle of sperm production—seventy-four days—before most sperm are healthy and show up in normal amounts in your semen.
