If you’re a woman who was exposed to second-hand smoke during your childhood you are more at risk of fertility problems or miscarriage, according to new research.Toxins breathed in from passive smoking when young could have caused permanent damage that will harm your chances of falling pregnant or miscarrying the baby during pregnancy.
A team from the University of Rochester in New York studied nearly 5,000 women who gave details about their attempts to fall pregnant, miscarriages and history of being exposed to second-hand smoke.
A third of the women questioned lost one or more babies while 11% had difficulty falling pregnant. In total, 40% of women reported problems with prenatal pregnancy such as miscarriages and struggling to become pregnant.
Four out of five women reported being exposed to passive smoke during their life and 50% grew up in a home where a parent smoked. Of those who during their childhood had parents who smoked, 26% were found to be more likely to have difficulty conceiving and 39% were more likely to have suffered a miscarriage.
An estimated 17% of mothers smoke during their pregnancy despite the many warnings about how it affects their health and that of their unborn baby. Passive smoking is also likely to interfere with hormones which will affect fertility.
