There is a lot of published research and studies linking active cigarette smoking to irreversible damage in the female reproductive system. Along the same vein, studies are now confirming what was feared, that inhaling second hand cigarette smoke also causes reproduction problems. The problems are not only a result of exposure to second hand cigarette smoke in adulthood but can be traced back to exposure that occurred as early as in utero.
Exposure to Second Hand Cigarette Smoke in Childhood affects a Woman’s Fertility
In an epidemiological study that was conducted on approximately 4,800 non-smoking women between 1982 and 1998 at the Roswell Park Cancer Center in Buffalo, NY, the women who had been pregnant at least once were asked to fill out a questionnaire. The questionnaire asked specific questions about the women’s second hand cigarette exposure and their pregnancy outcomes (miscarriages, stillbirths and infertility). The results showed that 68 percent of the women who had been exposed to 6 or more hours of cigarette smoke a day had negative pregnancy outcomes (bouts of infertility, single or multiple miscarriages. The results also showed that increasing the time frame of exposure (from childhood alone to a lifetime of exposure) increased the severity of the pregnancy outcome complications (miscarriages to infertility).
Second Hand Cigarette Smoke Components affects Oocyte Development
Cigarette smoke contains many toxic and carcinogenic chemicals, some of which have a negative effect on the reproductive organ development. A study that was published in the Human Reproduction journal shows that once the components of cigarette smoke, namely cadmium and nicotine, are absorbed into the body, they interfere with the maturation of the oocyte creating nonviable oocytes leading to unsuccessful fertilizations. Cigarette smoke also acts as a hormone disrupter; it has shown anti-estrogenic activity which interferes with FSH levels creating nonviable oocytes and fewer oocytes in newborn girls.
Second Hand Cigarette Smoke linked to Miscarriages
In another study that was published in the Human Reproduction journal in October 2006, researchers tested the urine of non-smoking women who were patients at a fertility clinic, for cigarette smoke exposure biomarkers. The results showed that women exposed to second hand cigarette as children or in utero showed a higher rate of miscarriages.
As adults it is easy to avoid second hand cigarette smoke but as a child in a home of smokers it is not. Smokers should be aware of the fact that their smoking can affect their ability to have grandchildren. The above study findings reiterate the importance of protecting women from tobacco smoke during their reproductive development and during their reproductive years.
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