Think twice before you smoke marijuana – it could send your chances of having a baby up in smoke!
According to an article published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, researchers said that they want medical providers and patients who are trying to have a baby to be aware of the fact that smoking marijuana could make it more difficult to conceive.
The article explained that Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), one of the psychoactive ingredients in marijuana, affects receptors in the central nervous system (especially the hypothalamus and pituitary gland) and the reproductive system, making it difficult for people to conceive.
In females, the hypothalamus secretes a gonadotropin-releasing hormone, which helps release other hormones required for ovulation and preparing the uterus for a fertilized egg.
The problems associated with the pituitary gland can cause infertility in women and erectile dysfunction in men.
Another problem associated with smoking marijuana is low sperm count.
According to a Danish study, smoking marijuana more than once a week decrease sperm count by 29 percent in men between the ages of 18 and 28. The findings were published in the American Journal of Epidemiology
If smoked more than three times in the past three months, marijuana could delay or prevent ovulation. Researchers of one study known as “Not Your Mother’s Marijuana,” which was published in Clinical Perinatology, found that if you smoke marijuana during pregnancy, prenatal exposure to marijuana could lead problems with your child’s functioning skills, behavior, attention, and school achievements later on.
