WASHINGTON: Smoking has a "devastating" effect on a woman's chances of giving birth to a child through the in-vitro fertilization method. A study by the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre in Netherlands found that the harmful effects of smoking or being overweight were strongest among those women who had no obvious cause for not conceiving.
The researchers, led by Dr Bea Lintsen, collected data from a section of women participating in the country-wide OMEGA study to examine the effects of hormone stimulation. They investigated 8,457 women, analyzing details on reproduction and lifestyle factors, combined with medical records of IVF treatment. The study found that more than 40 per cent of the women were smokers at the time of undergoing their first attempt at IVF and more than 7 per cent were overweight.
Linsten said: “In all subgroups smokers had a lower delivery rate per treatment cycle than non-smokers. The live birth rate for smokers was 28 per cent lower than that of non-smokers. This was most marked in women who had no known cause for subfertility where the live birth rate among smokers was only 13 per cent compared to 20 per cent for non-smokers.”
Chances of miscarriage were also significantly higher among smokers with around 21 per cent losing their babies compared with around 16 per cent of non-smokers.
Lintsen, however, drew a positive side -- women with unexplained subfertility may be able to improve the success of IVF treatment by quitting smoking and losing weight.
The study was conducted by doctors from 12 centers in the Netherlands.
Professor Didi Braat, who was part of the team, said the impact of smoking 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.
Braat said she doesn't know how long a woman should stop smoking to reduce the effects on the success of IVF. And it is also not clear why smoking has this effect.
