Preconception
Month 1:
You and your baby's health
Smokers (whether you or your partner) take longer to conceive.
Top benefits
As soon as you stop smoking fertility begins to improve.
Smoking and fertility
You know that smoking is bad for you, but you may not know about the negative effects smoking has on your chances of becoming a parent and having a healthy baby.
Smokers take longer to conceive than non-smokers and are more likely to have fertility issues
Men and women who smoke – and women who are exposed to other people’s smoke – are more likely to take longer to get pregnant, while both active smoking and passive smoking (inhaling someone else’s smoke) increases a woman’s risk of infertility. In fact, passive smoking is only slightly less harmful to a woman’s fertility than active smoking.
Pregnant women who smoke can find it more difficult to quit if they have a partner who smokes. Research shows it is much easier for people to stop smoking if they do it with their partner. Deciding to quit together is a great way to increase your fertility and chances of having a healthy baby.
The facts about smoking and having a baby
- Smoking can cause erectile dysfunction.
- Smoking in the three months before conception can damage the DNA in sperm, affecting the health of a child.
- Exposure to cigarette smoking during pregnancy can impact on the development of a female foetus’ ovaries.
- Smoking by the father or both parents around the time of conception is a risk factor for childhood leukaemia.
- Women who are exposed to second-hand smoke reach menopause more than a year earlier than non-smokers.
The good news?
- Sperm takes three months to develop which means that the most important time for men to improve their health and quit smoking is in the three months leading up to conception.
- Stopping smoking can improve natural fertility and some of the effects of smoking can be reversed within a year of quitting.
Quit For Fertility
New interactive tool developed with Quit Victoria
If you’re planning to have a baby, it’s important to know that smoking reduces fertility. It is important for potential mums and dads to quit as early as possible to improve their chances of having a healthy baby.
This interactive tool, developed with Quit Victoria, helps you get to know the facts about how smoking affects fertility and pregnancy. For more information and support on how to quit smoking, visit www.quit.org.au
Preconception
Month 2:
You and your baby's health
Passive smoking (inhaling someone else's smoke) is almost as damaging to fertility as smoking.
Top benefits
You will be coughing and wheezing less within 2 months of quitting
Preconception
Month 3:
You and your baby's health
Smoking can damage the DNA in eggs and sperm, affecting your child's future health.
Top benefits
Quitting smoking means a healthier you, and a much greater chance of conceiving.
Trimester 1
Month 1:
You and your baby's health
Quitting in the early weeks of pregnancy reduces the risk of pregnancy complications
Top benefits
Your body is better at fighting infection.
Trimester 1
Month 2:
You and your baby's health
Everything you eat, drink and breathe, including cigarette smoke, affects your baby.
Top benefits
Your lungs are starting to heal as cilia, the tiny hairs that clean your lungs, begin to recover from paralysing tobacco toxins
Trimester 1
Month 3:
You and your baby's health
Quitting smoking decreases the risk of miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy (a pregnancy that develops outside the uterus).
Top benefits
Women who quit smoking in the first three months of pregnancy reduce the risk of a pre-term birth.
Trimester 2
Month 1:
You and your baby's health
Clear the air for your baby girl: exposure to cigarette smoke in utero affects the development of a baby girl's ovaries.
Top benefits
After 4 months of quitting smoking your blood is less thick and sticky, reducing your risk of harmful clots
Trimester 2
Month 2:
You and your baby's health
Quitting smoking during pregnancy decreases the risk of a range of birth defects.
Top benefits
Quitting smoking before the third trimester helps with your baby's birthweight.
Trimester 2
Month 3:
You and your baby's health
Quitting smoking decreases the risk that your baby will be born with weaker lungs, which may persist into childhood
Top benefits
Women who stop smoking before the third trimester of pregnancy can avoid much of the effect of smoking on birthweight.
Trimester 3
Month 1:
You and your baby's health
Passive smoking is almost as damaging to your unborn baby's health as smoking.
Top benefits
It's not too late! Quitting at any time during your pregnancy reduces the risk of harm to your baby.
Trimester 3
Month 2:
You and your baby's health
When you smoke, your baby gets less oxygen. Quitting during pregnancy will mean your baby's lungs will be stronger.
Top benefits
You'll be breathing easier than if you'd kept smoking
Trimester 3
Month 3:
You and your baby's health
Quitting smoking improves your baby's immune system.
Top benefits
By staying quit you're protecting the health of your child and your partner.
Up to a year
You and your baby's health
Women who smoke reach menopause almost two years earlier than nonsmokers.
Babies exposed to cigarette smoke have an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
Top benefits
You're a healthy role model for your child.
Myth conception
The myth:
"Smoking doesn't affect a man’s fertility."
The truth:
In fact, smoking reduces men’s fertility.
Smoking can cause erectile dysfunction. If a man is a heavy smoker, his partner will take longer to conceive.
Fatherhood begins before conception
Rob McLachlan, Director of Andrology Australia discusses the importance of DNA, and highlights how the quitting smoking will improve sperm quality and the health of a future child.
Featured resources
Fertility Factors: smoking
How does smoking - and passive smoking - affect your ability to have kids? Take a minute to find out...
Quit for fertility
Quit expert Dr. Sarah White, Director of Quit Victoria shares her advice with future parents on how they can quit to improve their fertility and the health of their future child.
Clear the air for your baby
Dr. Raelia Lew, Fertility Specialist and Gynaecologist tells us about the risks of smoking and how it can affect your fertility and health of your future child.
Fertility Fact Sheets
These fertility fact sheets for general public have been developed by the Fertility Coalition in association with the Fertility Society of […]
Fertility facts for men
The father matters too. Get the facts about male fertility and how you can boost your chances of having a healthy […]
- Pre-conception checklist for women
Looking to start a family? Fill out the quick questionnaire and make an appointment to see your doctor for a preconception health check.
- QUIT Victoria
Quit Victoria is smoking cessation program of Cancer Council Victoria. Call Quitline on 13 7848 for advice on quitting smoking.