Air pollution. It is not something that we normally factor into our lives when we are trying to get pregnant. We may take herbal supplements, try to lose weight, eat or drink crazy things, try weird sex positions, and time our cycles down to the minute. Many women turn to fertility treatments to give them a helping hand in getting pregnant. But, does anyone really stop to think about how air pollution of all things is affecting those treatments? Read on to find out more. Claim Your 20 Free Pregnancy Tests – Click Here
A study was conducted by the College Of Medicine at Penn State. More than 7000 women took part in the study. All of these women were undergoing IVF treatments at the time of the study. The doctors tracked each woman’s exposure to air pollution, namely exhaust fumes, both at home and at their fertility clinic. The women were tracked through their entire IVF process, and the amount of air pollution they were exposed to was also tracked.
The findings were actually quite shocking. The study found that women who consistently breathed in the exhaust fumes and other air pollution were 25 percent less likely to conceive than women who lived in areas with less air pollution. Twenty five percent is a huge number, especially when you are undergoing an expensive, time consuming, and exhausting process like IVF.
Why do the exhaust fumes have this effect on women undergoing IVF? Doctors are still researching to figure out why, but most hypothesize that the exhaust fumes are damaging women’s reproductive cells. Some also think that the fumes could possibly obstruct blood flow to the uterus or to a developing placenta. Either of these things would result in IVF failure.
So far the research on this topic is still in the investigation stage, and more research is definitely needed to determine the long term effects of air pollution on fertility. That being said, doctors are urging women not to panic about air pollution and IVF until more research is complete. However, if you live in an area that is prone to significant air pollution, you should talk to your doctor before beginning IVF treatment to find out what he or she has to say about this study.
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