Marijuana use affects fertility treatment

Using marijuana, either by man or a woman, might reduce the good outcome of a fertility treatment. Researchers from the University of California, USA, recommend that physicians should tell couples not to use marijuana for at least one year before starting fertility treatment. The researching team investigated the possible effects of marijuana use on the outcomes of 221 couples who underwent in vitro fertilization (IVF) or gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT) treatment for infertility. At least 10 percent of men and women smoked marijuana in the year before the fertility procedure and 3 percent of women and 0.5 percent of men reported smoking marijuana the day before the procedure. It was found that longer marijuana use over a woman's lifetime reduced the number of eggs that could be retrieved and the number of embryos that could be transferred. Women who smoked marijuana during the year before the procedure had 25 percent fewer eggs and about one fewer embryo transferred, as compared to women who didn't smoke marijuana during that year. Similarly, marijuana smoking by the man during the year before the procedure was associated with approximately one fewer embryo transferred. Any lifetime use of marijuana by both partners was associated with a 19 percent decrease in eggs retrieved, as compared to couples who never smoked marijuana. It was also found that if the man or the woman had ever used marijuana, their infant had a significantly lower birth weight, as compared to individuals who had never used marijuana. This effect seemed to increase with higher or more recent marijuana use. Marijuana has been implicated with low birth weight, although the results are inconsistent. However, the relationship between marijuana use by the father and low infant birth weight needs to be verified by larger studies.