# Can smoking pot keep a woman from getting pregnant?



## Snapdragon

I know this is a touchy subject but I did see a number of marijuana related threads on mdc so I thought I would give it a go.

What do people think about the possibilities of marijuana smoking in the women ( not the man) affecting her ability to conceive?

I have read that it has a lot of estrogen which can either mess with her hormones or with ovulation.

Yet I know a number of women who conceived in periods of their life where they were smoking.
.

Does anyone have personal experiences with this?
Thanks


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## Mama Dragon

I sure didn't have any problems conceiving #1 at 15 when I was a stoner. I imagine that it could cause problems in some problems in some people, but I think the only way to know for sure is to check hormone levels before the person starts smoking pot and then check them again after regular smoking.


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## sojourn

people have kids on weed. I can confirm w/certainty at least one.


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## elspethshimon

Dude...my mom smoked so much weed that she wasn't able to conceive so she used the power of her altered consciousness and willed me into existence.


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## SleepyMamaBear

i think its a bunch of malarky. i personally know that you can get pregnant (even if you have been told you CANT get pregnant at ALL) while partaking in mj.


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## Hera

I have never seen any evidence that this could be the case. I don't think phytoestrogens are that strong in general, and certainly not that strong in MJ.


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## PJJ

MJ has been linked to an increased incidence in ectopic pregnancies.

http://alcoholism.about.com/od/preg/a/blvu041026.htm


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## Ruthla

Keep in mind that our bodies are pretty complex. Some couples have trouble conceiving even when doing everything "right" while others conceive even when using 2 or more forms of contraception. Something that potentially LOWERS fertility isn't going to have that effect on everybody- and even if it does lower a woman's fertility, if her fertility is already very strong, lowering it a bit may not hinder her from getting pg. Maybe it will take her 2 months to get pg instead of one.

Just because women have conceived while using a lot of marijuana is NOT proof that marijuana doesn't affect female fertility. It just proves that it's not a reliable contraceptive.


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## JessicaS

No but there have been studies showing a LOT of pot can reduce a man's sperm count and make their sperm act stupid.


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## Theia

Quote:


Originally Posted by *elspethshimon* 
Dude...my mom smoked so much weed that she wasn't able to conceive so she used the power of her altered consciousness and willed me into existence.









:

Umm, yeah, I was using it as a back up to my other birth control and now I have a daughter! Best accident ever







:


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## CallMeMommy

Psh, I know for a fact my mom was smoking pot on a regular basis AND on birth control when at least 2 out of the 3 of us were conceived.


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## Autumn Breeze

Quote:


Originally Posted by *elspethshimon* 
Dude...my mom smoked so much weed that she wasn't able to conceive so she used the power of her altered consciousness and willed me into existence.









:

Quote:


Originally Posted by *abimommy* 
No but there have been studies showing a LOT of pot can reduce a man's sperm count and make their sperm act stupid.









:


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## sojourn

uhh, abby, I'd like some firm facts on the husband being stupid. I mean, just in general. That was always my theory. on life in general. or on men. I digress. b/c that was always my safety clause. It wad'nt me. nopers. dopers ain't stoopit.


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## Snapdragon

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ruthla* 
Keep in mind that our bodies are pretty complex. Some couples have trouble conceiving even when doing everything "right" while others conceive even when using 2 or more forms of contraception. Something that potentially LOWERS fertility isn't going to have that effect on everybody- and even if it does lower a woman's fertility, if her fertility is already very strong, lowering it a bit may not hinder her from getting pg. Maybe it will take her 2 months to get pg instead of one.

Just because women have conceived while using a lot of marijuana is NOT proof that marijuana doesn't affect female fertility. It just proves that it's not a reliable contraceptive.









So *Ruthla* I think I hear you saying that pot may in fact lower fertility, especially for someone whose ferility wasn't that strong? Is this right?

I find it so confusing! On one hand, conceiving seems to be this oh so subtle and complex thing that can be so easilty thrown off by something like pot. Yet then, like you said, people get pregnant all the time with all kinds of stuff in their systems.
It is hard to sort out the truth about pot in this matter because there is so much anti pot propoganda out there.

But then would someone who, lets say, had a mostly fast food diet be less likely to conceive than a person who ate fresh organic home cooked food?

Are peopl who have "low fertility" neccesarily less healthy than those who can conceive?
Because just from looking at the outside of people it doesn't seem like this would be so.


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## lunasmommy

Quote:


Originally Posted by *abimommy* 
No but there have been studies showing a LOT of pot can reduce a man's sperm count and make their sperm act stupid.











Ok, now I'm visualizing super stoned sperm, swimming in circles. "dude, what were we suppose to be looking for?"







:


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## Ruthla

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Katie34* 
So *Ruthla* I think I hear you saying that pot may in fact lower fertility, especially for someone whose ferility wasn't that strong? Is this right?

I've never actually studied this particular issue, or read studies on this issue. All the pot smokers I've met personally had given it up LONG before becoming parents- or they're not honest with me about their pot smoking.









I'm just pointing out the realities of statistics here- perhaps better summed up as "the plural of 'anecdote' is not 'data'." Several people have shared anecdotes of women conceiving while using marijuana. That means NOTHING about marijuana's effect on fertility. I can give you anecdotes about women conceiving after a tubal ligation as well, even though there's plenty of evidence that this is rare.

So yes, pot MIGHT lower fertility, or it might increase fertility, or it might have no effect on fertility whatsoever.


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## Demeter9

I don't know.

It does have estrogen like substances.

Some ops use estrogen/bcpills when growing it, which I'm sure could be incorporated into the plant and increase the plants compounds. Inhalation is a route into the body that is very direct, not leaving any room for your body to do much alteration on a substance. So direct inhaling of extra estrogen.....maybe.


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## ~Boudicca~

Obviously anecdotal, but IME it didn't seem to have an effect on my fertility. I smoked on a pretty regular basis (several times a week for several years) before I found out I was pregnant with dd1. The one time we did not use protection was when I conceived her. And I was drunk and stoned at the time







.


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## Theia

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Katie34* 
But then would someone who, lets say, had a mostly fast food diet be less likely to conceive than a person who ate fresh organic home cooked food?


I can honestly say that when my pregnancy happened, DP and I were eating almost exclusively home cooked organic meals.... we still do. It must have had something to do with camping out under the stars for 2 months....wait OMG, was it the organic food!?









Quote:


Originally Posted by *lunasmommy* 









Ok, now I'm visualizing super stoned sperm, swimming in circles. "dude, what were we suppose to be looking for?"







:

OMG!







: That really made me laugh! And I've been dry except for one single occasion for over a year!

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ruthla* 
I've never actually studied this particular issue, or read studies on this issue. All the pot smokers I've met personally had given it up LONG before becoming parents- or they're not honest with me about their pot smoking.









I'm just pointing out the realities of statistics here- perhaps better summed up as "the plural of 'anecdote' is not 'data'." Several people have shared anecdotes of women conceiving while using marijuana. That means NOTHING about marijuana's effect on fertility. I can give you anecdotes about women conceiving after a tubal ligation as well, even though there's plenty of evidence that this is rare.

So yes, pot MIGHT lower fertility, or it might increase fertility, or it might have no effect on fertility whatsoever.

It's a shame that people don't feel that they can be honest about things in life. Seriously, when I conceived, DP and I were partaking daily, as well as having a few beers each night. We were living it up, camping in new places and eating great food cooked over the campfire. We didn't need anything more until my all-day sickness appeared. uke I vote that it is too individual and that nothing is true 100% of the time for 100% of the people.









Sorry if this is supposed to be a completely serious post.... I guess I am just reliving some of the 'days of yore'.


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## CariOfOz

Quote:


Originally Posted by *lunasmommy* 









Ok, now I'm visualizing super stoned sperm, swimming in circles. "dude, what were we suppose to be looking for?"







:

Maybe they should make a movie.. 'Dude, Where's my Ovum?!?'














:

Couldn't resist







I have no serious answer though, sorry


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## sunanthem

No problems with conception and partaking here.


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## Best Feeling

Wasn't a problem here. Either time.


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## mommysusie

I actually thought it made me more fertile....


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## A&A

I wouldn't trust it as birth control.


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## rhubarbarin

I definately don't think it can be used as birth control, even if both parties are heavy users!

I would think heavier drugs such as cocaine and opiates would have a much stronger effect on your body and fertility (especially considering that addicts don't take time to eat well and stay hydrated), however there are plenty of crack-babies.

I read a study some time ago, done on female patients in a fertility clinic. It seemed to prove that the more pot they had smoked in their lifetime, the less fertile they were. Unfortunately I can't find it! I took that one with a grain of salt, though, since it wasn't adjusted for the age of the women, or for any other factors..

I've read so many studies linking even such things as moderate exercise to infertility that I just feel eh about the whole thing. Besides age, it's pretty much the luck of the draw I think. I know lots of people who do everything wrong as far as their health and have no trouble making lots of babies, and others who do it all right and can't conceive one.


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## JessicaS

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sojourn* 
uhh, abby, I'd like some firm facts on the husband being stupid. I mean, just in general. That was always my theory. on life in general. or on men. I digress. b/c that was always my safety clause. It wad'nt me. nopers. dopers ain't stoopit.
















I said it made sperm stupid not husbands or people in general.


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## kriket

Plus you have to understand that people's idea of 'heavy user' is OUTRAGEOUS! There was a study that linked heart problems and MJ, DH worked it out you would have to smoke an entire cigarette sized joint ever 2 hours to smoke as much as they stated. (that includes waking up every 2 hours to smoke)

Everything in moderation.


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## JayJay

Funny! Actually in the Jamaican studies done (which could easily be held as basically the only really reliable studies of pot and pregnancy, since the women there are exclusively pot smokers (in the study)) it was found that pot really did not have any effect on pregnancy or fertility at all - not even birth weight if the pot were to be continually smoked throughout. Interestingly, it was found that children of pot smoking mothers were likely to be more alert in infancy, have a better developmental process in early childhood and were more "well adjusted" at age five than the children of non pot smoking mother....go figure! Could be something to do with the mother's attitude - I don't know. Anyhow, it's interesting.


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## ms.shell

i think it may have an effect on stickiness. i believe i read a while ago that mj can lower progesterone levels, so while it may not prevent conception it may contribute to miscarriage.


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## sunanthem

Well, I also think it depends on each individual and how they handle it, and how they percieve partaking in their mind.


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## Talula Fairie

I read in a fertility book (called Getting Pregnant) that it can negatively effect fertility. But all the anecdotal evidence I know if is that it makes little if any difference at all.


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## Lafairian

Quote:


Originally Posted by *lunasmommy* 









Ok, now I'm visualizing super stoned sperm, swimming in circles. "dude, what were we suppose to be looking for?"







:









:


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## number572

Quote:


Originally Posted by *elspethshimon* 
Dude...my mom smoked so much weed that she wasn't able to conceive so she used the power of her altered consciousness and willed me into existence.

omg







thats awesome, i'm not laughing at your existence btw, of course! its great that you exist.


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## number572

Originally Posted by lunasmommy

Ok, now I'm visualizing super stoned sperm, swimming in circles. "dude, what were we suppose to be looking for?"

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Lafairian* 







:

Dude, where's my egg?


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## dinahx

On the real . . . I believe the answer is yes and no. NO, DON'T try to use it as birth control!









But having known women who absorb it through their skin while working in the 'industry' (trimming on legal farms out west), it can affect ovulation.

I have never known someone to be infertile because of cannabis (and if it was that much of a problem, they could just reverse the effects by not injesting), BUT I have known COUPLES where both people are heavy users and they don't conceive. So I personally believe that both people in a couple have to be using MJ for it to have any type of real BC effect.

Also, I will say combustion/incineration is not going to have any type of positive effect on anyone's fertility. So if you are interested in damage control: vaporize or tincture, don't smoke!


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## TheBluebird

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ruthla* 
Keep in mind that our bodies are pretty complex. Some couples have trouble conceiving even when doing everything "right" while others conceive even when using 2 or more forms of contraception. Something that potentially LOWERS fertility isn't going to have that effect on everybody- and even if it does lower a woman's fertility, if her fertility is already very strong, lowering it a bit may not hinder her from getting pg. Maybe it will take her 2 months to get pg instead of one.

Just because women have conceived while using a lot of marijuana is NOT proof that marijuana doesn't affect female fertility. It just proves that it's not a reliable contraceptive.

















:
Very good points.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *lunasmommy* 
Ok, now I'm visualizing super stoned sperm, swimming in circles. "dude, what were we suppose to be looking for?"


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## kriket

Quote:


Originally Posted by *dinahx* 
But having known women who absorb it through their skin while working in the 'industry' (trimming on legal farms out west), it can affect ovulation.

those ladys "ingest" a metric TON of pot.







back in my "wild days" I had a friend who would work LSD and trip really (reallyreallyreally) hard from it absorbing through his gloves into is skin. all I gotts to say is handling any of that stuff all day will mess anyones anything up.


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## MoonJelly

I think it can inhibit ovulation in _some_ women. I sure know it wouldn't inhibit mine...









I will say that I did have times back in the day where my period would be very delayed if I was using heavily.


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## Snapdragon

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sunanthem* 
Well, I also think it depends on each individual and how they handle it, and how they percieve partaking in their mind.

Interesting idea- I wonder if you would be willing to explain more specifically what you mean here.
Do you think it depends on how the person using it perceives it, either a guilty/bad thing harming her or a lovely/ally heloing her- and that this would effect fertility?

Also- how would it "inhibit" ovulation? Would it keep a woman from ovulating?

Just doing research here!

One more question- if it does limit fertility, is it possible that for the women to whom it did not- that they were mostly young enough so that fertility was quite strong? Y'know-


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## dawn1221

Quote:


Originally Posted by *abimommy* 
No but there have been studies showing a LOT of pot can reduce a man's sperm count and make their sperm act stupid.

This!


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