Studies show that women who are regularly around smokers have more difficulty getting pregnant than those who aren't. The researchers say the findings give women another reason to fight smoking.
Studies have shown that women who smoke have more pregnancy complications and their babies more health problems, but there has been less research on passive smoking, although exposure to smoke during pregnancy has been linked with a higher risk of miscarriage.
In a recent study of 4,804 women, researchers found that 11% had difficulty getting pregnant (trying for more than a year) and nearly a third had had a miscarriage or stillbirth. Women exposed to second-hand smoke as children or adults were 39% more likely to have had a miscarriage or stillbirth and 68% more likely to have had difficulty getting pregnant than other women.
The more days a woman was exposed to second-hand smoke, the stronger the effect. Tobacco smoke contains many toxic substances that harm the female reproductive system; they may damage genetic material, which interferes with pregnancy and raises the risk of miscarriage, and they suppress hormones needed for a pregnancy to start and continue.
The study was published in the journal Tobacco Control in November 2008.
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