President of the Academy of Medicine Specialties of Nigeria, Professor Oladapo Ashiru, has warned that daily activities such as using lipstick, driving barefooted and the use of insecticides can cause infertility.

Ashiru disclosed this in his lecture at the inauguration and induction of fellows of the Academy held in Lagos on Monday.

He added that bad eating habits, stress, consuming stockfish and fish with a large presence of mercury in them, are embryo-toxic and could be a major cause of infertility.

“Some women do not drive with their shoes because they find it easy driving barefooted. Many patients experience miscarriages after going through IVF because the upper lining of those pedals has antimony which has been proven to be embryo-toxic. Not until we remove this antimony from them, they can’t be pregnant or keep a pregnancy.

“Same goes for mercury which is present in large fish and stockfish; fumigation, oil spillages, the use of lipstick and pesticides are also injurious to the health.

“Fumigation and pesticides can affect a woman who is carrying a baby; it will affect the baby and the child to be born. That is, toxins from pesticides affect three generations.

“Women use a lot of lipstick, unknown to them that they carry a lot of toxins especially if they are cheaply made. Oil spills are also toxins to the sperm and eggs, it causes miscarriage.”