If My Boyfriend Smokes Marijuana, Can I Still Get Pregnant Easily?

Yes. While it’s true that smokes marijuana could potentially lower a guy’s sperm count, it’s NOT an effective method of birth control. Here’s something else you should know about marijuana and sex: the primary active ingredient in marijuana, called THC (delta-9-tetrahydorcannabinol), lowers testosterone levels. Since testosterone is related to the sex drive in both women and men, smoking a lot of marijuana may reduce the sex drive. In men, it may also decrease muscle mass.

Will Smoking Cannabis Affect Our Chances of Conceiving?

Cannabis use has been linked with infertility in both women and men. So whether you, your partner or both are marijuana users, it may be affecting your reproductive health and making it harder for you to conceive.

How Can Marijuana Use Affect Women’s Fertility?

Cannabis can disrupt your menstrual cycle and ovulation. It can also affect an embryo’s ability to implant itself and develop in your womb (uterus).

What Are The Effects Of Marijuana On Male Fertility?

Research suggests that cannabis can lower the quality of your sperm. It can also lead to a lower sperm count and reduce the ability of your sperm to move well (sperm motility). One study found that smoking cannabis more than once a week reduced sperm count by up to a third.

Cannabis can also change the size and shape sperm, particularly in younger men. Misshapen sperm are less able to swim in a straight line, so are less likely to reach and fertilise your egg.

The long-term health effects of marijuana use may also include erection problems, known as erectile dysfunction (impotence). This may further lower your chances of conceiving.

All of this suggests that you’ll improve your chances of conceiving if you stop taking cannabis. Wait until it has left both your system and your partner’s system, before trying to conceive.

How Long Should We Wait After Giving Up Cannabis Before Trying To Conceive?

It takes a man’s body three whole months to make new sperm. So it’s best to wait for this long before trying to conceive. However, the time cannabis will take to clear your body depends on how much you have used, and for how long.

If you only smoke marijuana occasionally, the drug will take a few days to exit your system. If you’ve been smoking a lot of cannabis every day for a long time, it won’t leave your system for at least a month or more .

Is Smoking Cannabis Bad In Pregnancy?

If you give up cannabis while trying to conceive, don’t start using it again once you’re pregnant. Smoking cannabis isn’t safe for your baby. Studies have suggested that it may cause your baby to have a low birth weight, or affect your baby’s brain development as they get older.

Cannabis is normally combined with tobacco, which is also harmful to your unborn baby, even in small amounts. It’s best if both you and your partner quit smoking completely.

Keep in mind that illegal manufacturing of cannabis may result in contamination with pesticides or other unknown substances, posing even bigger risks to you and your baby.

If you’re smoking or taking any kind of illegal drugs, talk to your GP. They can give you confidential care and support before you conceive and throughout your pregnancy.