Читать книгу Getting Pregnant For Dummies - Sharon Perkins - Страница 84

One of the trending topics of late has been cannabis use and its effects. Marijuana is the most commonly used recreational drug in the United States with an estimated 22 million using the drug in the preceding month and over 117 million lifetime users. Cannabis has been around a long time, but recent changes in legislation and societal attitudes have led to a rise in the use of cannabis. Almost every evil imaginable has at one time or another been linked to the use of cannabis. However, now that so many people are using cannabis — and many legally — efforts are underway to accurately determine the dangers and benefits of cannabis use, including those involving male fertility.

Marijuana lowers sperm count; decreases sperm’s motility or sperm’s ability to move forward; and lowers the amount of testosterone in males. The problem is that semen study results don’t always correlate with pregnancy rates. So while the numbers in the results of a a semen analysis may be worse after marijuana use, the actual chance of conceiving may not be changed. But, does marijuana decrease the chance for males to father a child? The truth is that we just don’t know. There is no credible, large study that addresses this issue. That is truly disappointing.

What about women and marijuana? There is some evidence that some women who use marijuana when they are pregnant may have an increase in growth restriction of the fetus and preterm labor. However, there is very little evidence to date about how marijuana affects the ability to conceive. A recent study looked at the use of marijuana and the time it took to conceive for both men and women. The study reported that there was no change in the time it took to conceive based either upon use of marijuana or frequency of use of marijuana.

So, what is a couple to do? Much like alcohol and cigarette smoking, cannabis may decrease a couple’s chance of conceiving. So, until better evidence is obtained, prudence would say to use these substances in moderation, if at all. This would be particularly true for a male, given the reduction in the semen characteristics.