Smoking in Relation to Infertility and Fetal Loss

Abstract

Smoking history of 2,016 women who had been married was analyzed in relation to their reproductive experiences. Those who had never been pregnant were defined as being infertile. Three specific findings are of interest. (1) Regardless of educational and occupational background or of frequency of marriage, cigarette smokers were subject to an increased risk of infertility, reduced frequency of pregnancies, and fetal losses. (2) The risk was generally higher among those who developed cancer of the genitalia or breast, but was not further increased by smoking; in contrast, the risk was generally lower among those who did not develop female cancer, but was actually increased by smoking. (3) The husband’s history of smoking was independent of the association between wife’s smoking and reproductive history. These findings suggest a possibility that ova rather than sperms might be affected by maternal smoking and that such reproductive impairment might be prezygotic in nature.