en and women who smoke are lowering their chances of successfully conceiving a baby by in-vitro fertilization, according to recent research. The decline also occurs for couples using a newer fertility technique called intracytoplasmic sperm injection, in which a single sperm is injected into a woman's egg. In addition to lower pregnancy rates, researchers found that they retrieved fewer eggs from women smokers and had more difficulty fertilizing those eggs. © Your HealthStyle, 2003.