Could smoking, alcohol, or stress affect my fertility?

Yes, smoking, alcohol, or stress affect the fertility. It is also advised by doctors around the world that smoking should be giving up well in advance (1 – 2 years) of planning a child. Drinking alcohol puts you and your baby at risk for a miscarriage, pre-term birth, stillbirth, lowered birth weight and other serious effects. An expectant mother who is stressed can even influence the way in which the baby's brain and nervous system will react to stressful events. Indeed, one study found a higher rate of crying and low attention in infants of mothers who had been stressed during pregnancy.

We handled the case of a couple who was married from 7 years but were not able to have a child. With IUI, medicines and by quitting the smoking completely, they got the good news within few months.