When you are trying to conceive, there are so many things that can stress you out. You have to worry about timing and ovulation, and then waiting to take a pregnancy test every month can be frustrating on its own. But there are other factors that you should consider when it comes to getting pregnant, and tobacco and nicotine are some of the most important. You may have heard that smoking can affect your chances of getting pregnant, but how do e-cigarettes affect fertility?
Romper reached out to Dr. Edward Marut of Fertility Centers of Illinois, who explains that nicotine, which is found in e-cigarettes, can impair conception simply from the inhalation, and is known to have a direct effect on damaging sperm and eggs. "Nicotine also reduces the blood supply to the ovaries and testes for a secondary adverse effect," he says.
Unlike regular tobacco cigarettes, e-cigarettes don’t have the same known carcinogenic or teratogenic substances, adds Marut, but they do have an array of other chemicals, super-heated by the process, that are unlikely to be safe and may also have adverse effects on reproduction.
If you and your partner are trying to get pregnant, you should probably try to avoid e-cigarettes. "It is recommended that both men and women attempting pregnancy do not smoke any product, tobacco or otherwise, electronic or standard, or marijuana or hash," Marut says. He adds that second-hand smoke from any of these sources should also be avoided when you're trying to conceive.
It's hard enough to get pregnant for some women, and smoking of any kind can make it even more difficult. So it's a good idea to avoid e-cigarettes and other toxins to make your body as healthy as it can be and to provide a safe environment for your pregnancy to take place and develop.
