5 Factors affecting fertility

 As we get older, fertility will continue to decline. However, lifestyle and other external factors can also affect a woman's chances of having a healthy baby.

"Women who want to improve their chances of getting pregnant often do not know the best thing to do or what to look out for," said Francisco Arredondo, MD, an endocrinologist and fertility specialist in San Antonio, Texas.

Here are some factors that affect female fertility:

1. Obesity

Weight gain can affect hormone production and make it difficult to get pregnant. A study published in Fertility and Sterility in 2009, researchers found that women who were obese at age 18 more likely to develop polycystic ovarian syndrome and have problems with infertility.

2. Too thin

Just as overweight, too thin can also affect a woman's fertility. Wnita who has a body mass index very low deficiency of leptin, a hormone that controls hunger and satiety. Low levels of leptin which can disrupt the menstrual period, according to a study conducted by Harvard University in 2009.

3. The chemicals from household products

Exposure to pollutants, pesticides and industrial compounds can decrease the ability of couples to have children of up to 29 percent, according to a study published in Environmental Health Perspectives in 2013 ago.

4. Smoking

Smoking can harm the developing fetus, exposure to smoke can also affect a woman's chances of conceiving. Thirteen percent of infertility cases are caused by exposure to secondhand smoke, according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Cigarette smoke can disrupt hormones and cause DNA damage in men and women.

5. Alcohol

There is no evidence that drinking a few glasses of alcohol a week can affect female fertility, but doctors warn that drinking more than one glass of alcohol a day was associated with an increased risk of ovulation disorders. Plus, a study conducted in Sweden in 2004 on more than 7,000 women for 18 years, found that alcoholics often have problems with infertility.

Here are five factors that can affect female fertility. If you want to have children, avoid the five factors above.