Dr Abosede Lewu, an obstetrician and gynaecologist, has warned that male and female smokers experience a higher infertility rate than non-smokers.
She told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday that such persons were “smoking away their babies”.
Lewu explained that cigarettes contain harmful chemicals like nicotine, cyanide and carbon monoxide. On women of childbearing age, the expert noted that smoking can speed up the loss rate of eggs, She said in pregnant women, smoking causes miscarriages, ectopic pregnancies, anomalies in babies, damaged baby’s lungs, preterm contractions and makes the baby small.
Lewu added that later in life, sons of smoking mothers can have low sperm count.
“In men, smoking can reduce sperm count, affectability of sperm to move, cause abnormal sperm with damaged DNA, reduce the volume of semen and decrease the sperm’s ability to fertilise egg,” she said.
The doctor pointed out that smokers also put their partners at risk. Lewu stressed that quitting smoking was one of the best natural ways to boost fertility.