Can Smoking in Men Cause Infertility?

Is smoking harmful to your sperm? You already know the harmful effects of it on your health. It is also true that smoking causes infertility in men. Smoking damages the sperm and affects its ability to fertilize eggs. Smoking by the expectant fathers is considered as one of the major reasons that leads to failures in IVF methods and the increased number of miscarriages.

Apart from harming the sperm, passive smoking can affect the expectant mother’s fertility also. In that sense, smoking causes infertility in men and women even if the women is not an active smoker.

Major Male Reproductive Problems Caused By Smoking

Below listed are some of the problems caused by smoking:

• Decreased sperm count, leaving you with lesser chances of conception.
• Decreased sperm motility, in other words, affects the ability of the sperm to swim to the uterus negatively.
• Leads to poor sperm morphology leading to a decrease in the quality of the sperm produced. If the sperm is not shaped properly, it might not have the ability to swim well.
• Heavy smokers can have problems with getting erections.
• Damages the DNA of the sperm. These damages to the genetic material are transferred to the babies.

Also, if the fathers smoke more than 20 cigarettes a day at the period of conception, it can increase the child’s risk of getting childhood leukemia. Male smokers have abnormal hormone levels that will affect fertility.

Quitting Smoking and Increased Fertility in Men

The good news is that quitting smoking will still leave you with a fair chance of dealing with your dwindling fertility caused by smoking. When the doctors run tests to analyse the quality of your sperm and if the results are on borderline infertility, it is often found that quitting smoking improves the fertility in men and increases the chances of having a successful pregnancy.

How long will it take to Improve the Quality of Your Sperm after You Quit Smoking?

It is generally estimated that it will take around three months for the sperm cells to reach maturity. If you are planning pregnancy, it is better if you quit smoking at least three months before you start trying. It will give ample time to improve your chances of fertility and also improve the quality of the sperm you produce.