41 and a smoker

[Anonymous]

I would like to try for #3 before I hit age 43. Does smoking REALLY effect your fertility? I will quit once I get pregnant but does it REALY effect your egg quality??

[Anonymous]

Yes, it does really affect your fertility.

You already have 2 children. You need to quit NOW, for them, regardless of whether you conceive again. If you're almost 43, your fertility is very likely sub-optimal even without smoking, just due to age. So I would say you need to quit smoking immediately if you are hoping to get pregnant again.

[Anonymous]

Plus, smoking sucks off about 14 years of your life...can you imagine leaving your children motherless?

[Anonymous]

Yea I know...smoking kills and I've been trying so hard to stop but it's not easy. Unfortunately, I can never go longer than a week without a cig.

[Anonymous]

Q Are there any risk factors associated with miscarriage?
A The risk of miscarriage increases with increasing age, especially in women over the age of 35. Smoking, caffeine, and alcohol increase your risk of miscarriage. Also, some medications, including those you can buy without a prescription, may increase your risk.

[Anonymous]

Caffeine is still under research, according to my RE. I got pregnant easily while drinking large amounts of caffeine in my mid 30's.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Q Are there any risk factors associated with miscarriage?
A The risk of miscarriage increases with increasing age, especially in women over the age of 35. Smoking, caffeine, and alcohol increase your risk of miscarriage. Also, some medications, including those you can buy without a prescription, may increase your risk.

years ago when I was preggers I cut out smoking, caffeine, etc. In fact I cut it out while trying intensively. Oddly what seemed to work for me and getting pregnant was simply relaxing - I had an injury and was on muscle relaxants so I was in the pregnant mode at the time - just sitting around , eating, vegging, cocooning. If you are pregnant and need a cig just eat.

[Anonymous]

Yes, my REs told me that smoking was the single worse thing that you can do to hurt your fertility, and that it effects your egg quality.

[Anonymous]

Just quit smoking!

[Anonymous]

I stopped AFTER I got pregnant. I had stopped before while doing fertility treatment but it didn't work out well to me, so I went back to smoking (my doc. didn't know of course). The smoking actually was great to not drive me over the edge with all that stress (since I was adicted to begin with).

After I got pregnant it was very easy to quit because I was so sick all the time... just the though of smoking makes me want to puke.

[Anonymous]

As a former member of the pack-a-day club, I understand your pain. A few suggestions:

1. You CAN quit. Did you quit when you were pregnant before? If so, you're clearly capable of doing so again - you just need to psych yourself up for it and get some support.

2. http://www.ffsonline.org/ works. Commit and follow the program - even the corny leave-a-post-it-on-the-mirror-that-says-i-can-quit silliness - and you'll be smoke free in a few months. I tried to quit at least a dozen times before trying FFS (which is FREE), but it was the only thing that worked for me.

3. Exercise. It will help you quit, ready your body for pregnancy, and help you relax so you can conceive.

Good luck!!