The short answer is a resounding Yes.

We all know Smoking & Pregnancy is unhealthy. We know smoking regardless is unhealthy. But what about the impact on couples trying to conceive & their fertility plans?

Lets take a look at some of the issues of how Smoking impacts on Fertility in particular from a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Western Medicine point of view. We discover that the two paradigms have a lot in common!

1. TCM says Smoking depletes Jing – your reproductive energy

Western Medicine says Smoking is Cytotoxic & Genotoxic.

The chemicals in cigarettes are cytotoxic – this means they’re toxic to cells, cell health and cellular growth. Genotoxic means toxic to genetic information within a cell. An ovum or sperm is a single cell, the genetic blueprint for an embryo to begin its journey and therefore at risk of being hindered by the effects of smoking.

This can show up as poor morphology (shape and makeup) or motility (ability to swim) of sperm. In women it can show up as poor egg quality.

In a nutshell, Jing in Traditional Chinese Medicine is your egg and sperm quality. If these are poor, your Jing is depleted. If your Jing is depleted it can be a reason why its difficult to conceive and sustain a pregnancy.

Summary:

Depleted Jing = Depleted Sperm & Eggs = Difficulty conceiving

2. Smoking is hard work for your Liver

(TCM & Western Medicine are saying the same thing)

Your Liver is the detoxifying centre of your body. It tries to clean the blood of drugs, medications, chemicals and any other unwanted substances from the body. The Liver works hard in a smoker’s body as it’s constantly dealing with processing the carcinogens, toxins & chemicals in the bloodstream.

It can be seen that smokers have risks of Cancer in their Liver as well as their Lungs because of this detoxifying process.

The Liver is also important for Women as Traditional Chinese Medicine sees the Liver as driving the body clock – so anything that runs on cycles such as sleep, digestion and more importantly hormones, can be disrupted if the Liver is working hard or under stress.

Summary: 

Toxins = Hard work for Liver = Period Cycle irregularities

3. TCM says Smoking can create heat in the body.

The nature of smoking is a heating mechanism. Heat in the body can dry up the all important body fluids or Yin needed in fertility such as cervical mucus, seminal fluid and more. You can read more about why Yin is important in Fertility here.

Blood is included in Yin/ Body fluids and is crucial to good implantation.

Summary:

Heat = Dry = Infertile environment

4. Smoking is hard work for your Lungs

(TCM & Western Medicine are saying the same thing)

“Duh!” You might be saying, “that’s pretty self explanatory!”. But from a TCM view, the air quality we breathe and how we breathe is very important.  Breathing & Lung Function determines the Da Qi (Qi our body converts from the air we breathe). If our lung capacity is limited from long term smoking in the past, or we are still smoking when trying to conceive, our Da Qi is not great at all. Da Qi impacts on our overall energy levels as it feeds back into energy production mechanisms the body has.

Summary:

Smoking = Diminished Lung Capacity & Function = Tired, Breathless & Unfit = Not in great shape to conceive

5. The health of the parents at the time of conception determines the health and constitution of the child.

(TCM & Western Medicine are saying the same thing)

This is a BIG underlying premise of the Traditional Chinese Medicine approach to Fertility support. If we aim to get the parents health in the best possible position before they conceive, they will produce healthy egg & sperm, grow a healthy embryo, healthy foetus and healthy child. It doesn’t stop there – once the child is born, that child has a strong constitution to live the rest of their life with.

Yes. This is huge! Your health IS important when conceiving. It has a ripple effect on generations to come.

Lifestyle habits such as smoking, alcohol or drugs – let’s face it, there’s no nice way to say it – are unhealthy. The research and evidence is out there for all to see. But the impact of quitting these unhealthy habits is profound! The Western Medical viewpoint would be from a genetic perspective. Healthy and Unhealthy genes are passed on, there’s no discriminating. As mentioned before, Western Medicine wholeheartedly agrees that smoking causes damage on the cellular and genetic level.

Summary:

The healthier you are = The healthier & stronger the child will be for the rest of their LIVES.

So get excited, you can have a huge impact on your chance of fertility success, the health of your unborn child, your partner and yourself, just by fully appreciating these principles. If you want to know more or seek the wisdom of Traditional Chinese Medicine for fertility support, email me at info@springfertility.com.au