New York, Sep 6 (TIWN) Researchers have found that e-cigarette usage may impair fertility and pregnancy outcomes in young women.

Many young and pregnant women are using e-cigarettes as a safer alternative to smoking, but little is known about the effects on fertility and pregnancy outcomes. E-cigarettes are driving increases in tobacco product use among youth. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of middle and high school students using e-cigarettes rose from 2.1 million in 2017 to 3.6 million in 2018—a difference of about 1.5 million youth.  "We found that e-cigarette usage prior to conception significantly delayed implantation of a fertilized embryo to the uterus, thus delaying and reducing fertility (in mice)," said the study's corresponding author, Kathleen Caron, Ph.D., of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, N.C. "We also discovered that e-cigarette usage throughout pregnancy changed the long-term health and metabolism of female offspring—imparting lifelong, second-generation effects on the growing fetus."