Would Smoking Impact Sperm Count And ICSI Treatment?

Posted on Thu, 30 Aug 2018

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Thu, 30 Aug 2018 Answered on

Wed, 27 Sep 2023 Last reviewed on

Question : Hi, me and my wife have been trying to conceive but I have a small sperm count, between 13 and 16 million. So we've had a round of ICSI but it didn't work. I am now worried that this is due to the fact that in the three months prior to me giving a sperm sample I smoked on two occasions. Do you think that might have had a decisive impact on the failure of the ICSI treatment?

Answered by Dr. Prof. Kunal Saha (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
You need not feel guilty about the two instances of smoking

Detailed Answer:

Hello,

I do not think that a couple of instances of smoking had any significant negative impact on ICSI. The process may require multiple attempts to succeed and to some extent there is a component of luck involved as well.

I would insist you to take Zinc and folic acid supplements for around 3-6 months while you try to conceive naturally (parallel to the ICSI attempt). Studies have shown convincing improvement in both in sperm count and sperm motility using such a simple step.

Feel free to write back.

Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad