Alimentación, movimiento y sueño

Alcohol, smoking and reproductive health

Revisado: 4 de octubre de 2026

Solo en inglés por ahora

Smoking and alcohol can affect period pain, your chances of getting pregnant and a baby's health. It is never too late to stop or cut down.

Periods, PMS and long-term health

Cutting down on alcohol and not smoking may help ease period pain. Not smoking and not drinking too much alcohol are also among the self-help steps suggested for premenstrual syndrome (PMS). PMS can bring mood swings, tiredness and trouble sleeping in the weeks before a period. Cutting down may help you feel better then too. Alcohol affects your health outside pregnancy as well. The WHO says no amount of drinking is completely free of risk. Alcohol raises the risk of several cancers, including breast cancer.

Smoking and fertility

Smoking can make it harder to get pregnant and raises the chance of never becoming pregnant. In men, smoking damages sperm and can lead to problems getting or keeping an erection (erectile dysfunction). So if you are trying for a baby, it helps if both partners stop. Stopping smoking may also lower the risk of an early menopause (before age 45).

Smoking in pregnancy

Smoking in pregnancy raises the risk of problems with the placenta, the waters breaking too early, and an ectopic pregnancy (a pregnancy that grows outside the womb). Babies are more likely to be born early, before 37 weeks, or to be born small. Smoking also raises the risk of cleft lip or palate and of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Breathing in other people's smoke in pregnancy can lower a baby's birth weight. Stopping at any point in pregnancy helps.

Alcohol and pregnancy

If you are pregnant or trying for a baby, the safest choice is not to drink alcohol at all. If you are breastfeeding, ask a doctor, nurse or midwife about alcohol. Alcohol passes through the placenta to the baby, whose liver cannot yet process it. Drinking in pregnancy raises the risk of miscarriage, premature birth and low birth weight. It can also cause fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), a lifelong condition. The more you drink, the greater the risk.

If you drank before you knew

If you drank alcohol before you knew you were pregnant, avoid alcohol for the rest of the pregnancy. Try not to worry too much, as the risk to the baby is likely to be low. If you want to stop smoking or cut down on drinking, a doctor, nurse, midwife or pharmacist can help you find support. You do not have to do it alone.

This is general information. For help to stop smoking or drinking, talk to a doctor, nurse or pharmacist.