A new study from UW Medicine finds that wildfire smoke exposure may affect fertility. Additional studies show wildfire smoke can affect fertilitySmaller studies led by Oregon Health and Science University showed similar results, linking air pollution and wildfire smoke to impaired reproductive health. “As we see more frequent and intense wildfire events, understanding how smoke exposure impacts reproductive health is critical,” Nicholson said. The study did not determine whether sperm count goes back up when the wildfire smoke clears. “We are very interested in how and when sperm counts recover after wildfire smoke exposure,” Nicholson said.