Quitting tobacco is one of the best things you can do while you prepare to grow your family. A tobacco-free lifestyle can help ensure a healthy beginning for your little one(s). By quitting, you will have more cash in your wallet, more energy to bond with your family and more time to spend together without interruptions due to smoke breaks. If that’s not enough, here are some extra benefits to consider. 

Quitting Tobacco Increases Male Fertility 

Tobacco use has negative effects on male fertility, which can make achieving a planned pregnancy difficult. The cancer-causing substances and heavy metals found in cigarette smoke damage sperm. Men with more damaged sperm may experience reduced fertility, leading to higher miscarriage rates. Tobacco use is also a risk factor for erectile dysfunction. Men who quit tobacco before trying to conceive reduce their risk of experiencing these problems.   

Women Who Are Tobacco-Free Have Less Problems with Pregnancy 

Tobacco use also has negative effects on women’s fertility. Smoking causes damage to the eggs and ovaries, which leads to lower rates of conception after six and 12 months of trying to conceive. Women who become pregnant while using tobacco are more likely to experience miscarriages. Quitting tobacco before trying to conceive lowers your risk of experiencing these problems. 

Benefits of a Tobacco-Free Life for Baby 

When women quit smoking before they get pregnant or early in their pregnancy, their baby has a lower risk of being born too early or being considered small for their gestational age at birth. New moms who don’t smoke are less likely to experience problems with breastfeeding like low milk supply, colic and let-down difficulties.  

Quitting tobacco is also important to protect your baby’s health. When you smoke near children, you expose them to secondhand smoke. Secondhand smoke is what you breath out after inhaling through a cigarette, cigar, hookah or pipe. More than 7,000 chemicals have been found in secondhand smoke, at least 69 of which can cause cancer. Babies exposed to secondhand smoke have a greater risk of sudden infant death syndrome, a.k.a. SIDS, as well as lung problems like pneumonia, bronchitis and asthma.     

Even if you don’t smoke around your children, your tobacco use could still expose them to dangerous chemicals. Tobacco smoke leaves chemical residues on nearby surfaces which can last for a long time. This residue is called thirdhand smoke. Children can be exposed to it by touching things in places where people have smoked, through clothing people wore while smoking or through a caregiver’s skin.  

There is no safe amount of secondhand or thirdhand smoke exposure for children. Babies who grow up in a smoke-free environment are at a lower risk of breathing problems like asthma, poor weight gain and SIDS.