Smoking Policy

Cigarette smoking has been shown to impair fertility in both women and men. Women who smoke have a lower fertility rate, higher miscarriage rates, and deliver smaller weight babies. Data also show that women who smoke while pregnant will affect the fertility of their children. In one study, women who smoke while carrying a female child doom their daughters by lowering their fertility by as much as 50%!

Other studies in women seeking IVF treatment show that women who smoke while undergoing an IVF cycle have a 50% decrease in their chances at getting pregnant compared to age-matched non-smoking women. A decrease is also noted in passive smokers (i.e. if your husband smokes and you do not). Women who do not smoke but cohabit with a partner who does should encourage their partners to start smoking outside the house.

Please review The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM)’s fact sheet about the effects of smoking on Fertility at: Smoking.pdf

At VCRM we have initiated a policy of refusing to allow women who are active smokers from participating in our IVF program until they have quit smoking for at least 6 weeks. We will test for this by performing a blood test (cotinine level) that can detect whether women are still smoking, even as low as one cigarette per month.