Fertility problems linked to health

I found this article very interesting and revealing how critical the use of alcohol and smoking is in the very early stages of a fetus forming for both a man and a woman.

Fertility problems linked to health

Evening Chronicle
Sep 1 2005

Fertility problems are soaring in the UK because couples are too unfit for pregnancy, according to new research.

One in seven couples in the UK will have problems having a baby, but experts predict this could increase in the next decade.

Alcohol, smoking and poor diet could be helping fuel the rising rates of infertility, according to the survey.

Factors which can affect fertility include women delaying motherhood, an increase in sexually transmitted diseases and obesity, which can interfere with ovulation, as well as a decline in male fertility.

The latest survey of 2,000 women, who had an average age of 29, found that two-thirds (68%) continued to drink alcohol when trying to conceive.

The poll, by Pregnancy and Birth magazine, found that of the 49% who smoked, only a quarter could give up, while only 41% did any regular exercise.

Their partners did not help matters with their own unhealthy habits.

Only 13% of men gave up alcohol when their partner was trying to conceive. Of the 47% of men who smoked, only 23% gave up. Only 37% of men did regular exercise.

Sarah Hart, editor of Pregnancy and Birth magazine, said: "Bringing another life into the world is the most responsible thing an adult can ever do so it's astonishing how little care couples take with their health while trying to conceive a baby.

"Giving up smoking and alcohol gives couples a better chance of conception and also means their baby will be free of these major pollutants during the early weeks of pregnancy when all the major organs of the foetus are forming."

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