You already know that you should stop smoking when you are trying to get pregnant because it can increase your likelihood of infertility. New research indicates that a stronger anti-smoking case may be made. It seems that women exposed to environmental toxins like cigarette smoke actually pass on infertility problems to their daughters. This infertility may even take place if the exposure happens prior to conception.
In simpler terms, if you are exposed to certain toxins (including cigarette smoke) at any time throughout your life and then you get pregnant, you daughter may suffer from problems with infertility.
These toxins are stored in the fat of the body and then released during pregnancy which is why it doesn't matter when the exposure took place; your daughter could still be at risk. This information comes from a study done on mice which revealed that exposure to high levels of toxins before conception and during lactation resulted in a 66% reduction in eggs in the ovaries of the children conceived.
Whether or not this research applies directly to humans will have to be determined through additional research. But it probably wouldn't exactly hurt to start limiting your exposure to both firsthand and secondhand smoke.
