Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
A common question many women ask is during my in vetro fertilization cycle "Can I smoke,
can I drink alcohol, can I use certain recreational drugs, can I even have intercourse?" These
are all very good questions. There are obviously many very good reason to not smoke and drink
for health related issues. From a fertility standpoint we do know that smoking has a very
profound effect on egg number and egg quality over the long term. It's even been shown that
women who smoke heavily will go into menopause even years earlier than their non smoking
counterparts.
There is no evidence that a couple of glasses of wine per week or a couple of mixed drinks
per week during the fertility process is going to have an adverse affect on egg quality or
on chances of conceiving. Heavy alcohol consumption, however, can very much have an affect on a
potentially causing genetic damage in eggs. When that occurs specifically is not completely
known. There are no good data suggesting how much alcohol puts you at risk of any egg damage
or fertility abnormalities, but fertility doctors will state that it is best to not
drink heavily or to smoke at all, or to use any recreational drugs during the fertility
process.