Babies Born to Smokers have Reduced Fertility Levels

Source from:  NewsFix (ca)  05/06/2013

The damaging effect that smoking has on your fertility, whether you're male or female, is well known. Research has shown that both men and women who smoke have greater difficulty conceiving. Studies have shown the children smokers conceive will also have reduced fertility levels themselves.

One study involved scientists looking at the testes of 24 male embryos which ranged from 37-68 days old. The embryos were taken from legally approved terminations from women who had smoked throughout the duration of their pregnancy. These embryos had a 55% lower number of germ cells, which are responsible for the formation of the eggs and sperm, compared to the embryos taken from non-smoking mothers. These embryos also had a 37% lower number of somatic cells (which make up the body) than the embryos that weren't exposed to tobacco smoke in the womb.

When female fetuses where studied in the same way, they had slightly lower percentages – at a 41% reduced number of germ cells and 29% reduced number of somatic cells. Scientists hold the belief that the male embryos were exposed to on average more cigarettes per day than the female embryos, to explain the slight difference in the figures.

The findings show that even smoking in the early stages of pregnancy can have a permanent detrimental effect on the health of unborn babies.

Another study at the University of Saarland, Germany came to a similar conclusion. Experts compared samples of sperm from 53 men who smoked 20 cigarettes per day to the sperm of 63 non-smoking men. They examined the sperm samples for 2 proteins which are vital for forming the chromosomes during cell division. If these proteins, Protamines P1 and P2, aren't concentrated properly they can have a damaging impact on the fertility of a male embryo. The result of the study showed that the sperm samples from smokers had a reduced concentration of P2 by 14%, and a comparatively higher ratio of P1 to P2 in general.

Sperm can take months to fully develop, and once it is fully developed it goes on to be stored in the testicles. These studies show that if you are hoping to conceive you may wish to stub out your last cigarette a long time ahead of trying for a baby if you want to improve your fertility, and the fertility of your unborn child. Enditem