Women who smoke have a 25 percent greater chance of aborting than nonsmokers. Chronic smoke inhalation prevents oxygen from getting from the lungs through the blood and to the baby. As a result, the fetus is deprived of oxygen during its critical growth phase.
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The length of time a woman stays on the pill doesn’t seem to affect the recovery of the hormonal axis. But erratic use does. A woman can take the pill indefinitely with little risk to her fertility if she uses it consistently, stopping only when she wants to get pregnant. When a woman initially takes the pill, the brain control center is shocked. Stopping and starting the pill repeatedly jerks the system on and off, until it loses its buoyancy. After such a series of shocks, treatment with fertility drugs can usually help the ovulatory system start up again.
