Smoking and being overweight reduce the chances that women undergoing IVF fertility treatment will have a baby
Smoking reduces the chances that women undergoing IVF fertility treatment will have a baby. Being overweight can also limit the odds of becoming a mother. The current research shows that both smoking and being overweight unfavourably affect the live birth rate after IVF. It is comparable to adding a decade to the reproductive age of a 20-year-old. This means it makes her the equivalent of a 30-year-old non-smoker in reproductive terms. Researchers from the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, Netherlands, examined the success rates of 8,457 women after their first cycle of IVF (in-vitro fertilisation) and life-style factors. Women who were overweight had a 33 percent lower chance of having a child after the first treatment than other patients in the study. The effect of smoking and being overweight were most prominent in women with unexplained sub-fertility, where the reason they do not conceive naturally is not established. This suggests that these women in particular would be able to improve their chances of having a child if they quit smoking and lost weight.
The live birth rate of smokers with unexplained sub-fertility was 13 percent. In non-smoking women with the same diagnosis it was 20 percent.
Human Reproduction,
April 2005
April 2005
COMMENT
DoctorNDTV is the one stop site for all your health needs providing the most credible health information, health news and tips with expert advice on healthy living, diet plans, informative videos etc. You can get the most relevant and accurate info you need about health problems like diabetes, cancer, pregnancy, HIV and AIDS, weight loss and many other lifestyle diseases. We have a panel of over 350 experts who help us develop content by giving their valuable inputs and bringing to us the latest in the world of healthcare.
