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Patients often ask me about what they can do to increase the chance of pregnancy. Some lifestyle factors such as smoking, diet, body weight and stress are directly under your control and can have a significant impact on the chance of pregnancy. This is the first in a series of blog posts about lifestyle factors and fertility. We’ll start with smoking.

Smoking and Fertility

Smoking can cause fertility problems in both men and women. The chance of infertility is almost 2 times higher in smokers than in nonsmokers. Smoking is also associated with an increased risk of miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, other pregnancy complications, as well as male sexual dysfunction. The chemicals in cigarette smoke can affect both egg and sperm quality. These harmful chemicals can also speed up the loss of a woman’s eggs, resulting in earlier menopause. Women who smoke, or whose partner smokes, will take longer to get pregnant than women who don’t smoke. Fertility treatment may not be able to overcome the effects of smoking on fertility. Pregnancy rates in IVF patients who smoke are almost 50% less than in couples who don’t smoke.

Many women who smoke plan to quit as soon as they know they are pregnant. For those couples planning to conceive, particularly if they are experiencing difficulty conceiving, stopping smoking may increase both the chance of conception and successful pregnancy. It is best to quit smoking at least 3 months before starting fertility treatment. Quitting smoking can be very difficult, but it will improve your chance of getting pregnant, either on your own or with fertility treatment. Talk to your health care provider about ways to help you quit smoking. It is the best thing you can do for your health, and the health of your baby.

Dr. Adrian Gamelin was interviewed by Global Regina in a story on Fertility Funding.

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REGINA – Rod and Jayleene Sully have been married for nine years, and have decided it’s time to add a child to their family photos.

“We started trying and ran into some problems,” said Jayleene.

The couple consulted a fertility specialist and were told they were unlikely to conceive without help – either from a sperm donor or in vitro fertilization (IVF).

The Sullys prefer not to go with a donor, but IVF is a pricey procedure – costing upwards of $10,000.

“We had hope, (thinking) ‘Maybe we can do this,’” Jayleene said. “Then we found out the cost and said, ‘I don’t think we can afford that.’”

Depending on the province, some in vitro treatments are paid for by health care. In Saskatchewan coverage is only provided for infertility investigation, including sperm testing.

Infertility Saskatchewan – an advocacy group pushing for public funding of infertility treatments – wants to change that, citing a new report from the University of Alberta.

It says funding some forms of IVF could actually be more cost effective for the health system.

“We can try and reduce the financial barriers so couples are more inclined to transfer a single embryo during their fertility treatments, there will be fewer multiple pregnancies,” said Dr. Adrian Gamelin of Saskatoon’s Aurora Reproductive Care – the province’s only fertility clinic. “Therefore, the government will actually save money.”

While treatment is on the rise, doctors say, too often infertility isn’t recognized as a health issue.

“Infertility is a medical condition,” Gamelin said. “It’s not a choice any couple would make not to be able to have children.”

Rod and Jayleene don’t believe IVF funding will arrive in time for them, but they’re not done trying – to conceive and to effect change.

“Anything we can do, so that someone doesn’t have to say ‘no’ to a family because they can’t afford it.”

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You can view the VIDEO on Global website by clicking here

It’s been a while since I posted, but let me reassure you that we have not been on holidays. We have been busy!

Since we opened the doors to Aurora, we have been bustling with activity. It has been very exciting for us to get our donor and partner intrauterine insemination programs up and running. We also recently completed our first series of IVF treatments. It went very smoothly, thanks to our awesome and experienced staff who worked hard to give our patients the best experience possible. The feedback has been enormously positive.

We have also been working very hard to reduce the wait times for consultation at Aurora. We thank all of the women and couples who have waited a long time to see us for their patience as we made this transition. We understand how frustrating infertility is, and how much a long wait list to see a specialist can add to that. The good news is that we are able to see couples experiencing fertility problems much more quickly now – within 4 months at most right now.

It’s rewarding to see our vision for fertility care come to life at Aurora, and it’s a privilege to be a part of your journey.