Men and women may experience significant impairment in fertility from using prescription or illicit drugs.
Drug misuse can negatively impact fertility,especially in women. In fact,drugandalcoholuse is a major cause of infertility in bothwomenandmen.
Drug misuse can directly affect fertility by acting on the body systems that are responsible for reproduction. It also has an indirect effect, due to how drug use and addiction can affect health and lifestyle. Besides affecting fertility, drug use can have negative effects once pregnancy does occur.
Drugs, including nicotine, can haveserious adverse effectson the pregnancy and on the baby. These negative effects are most likely to happen during the first three months of the pregnancy when the woman might not even realize that she is pregnant. This is a serious problem, given that the unintended pregnancy rate for women with opioid addiction is as high as86%.
Substance use disorders are screened for and detectable by routine lab tests in pregnant women. If drug use is detected, these results are reported to child welfare services authorities over concerns for the welfare of the child. Children aretwo to 13 timesmore likely to be abused when a parent has a substance use disorder, so there are serious concerns about the parent’s ability to provide a safe and healthy home environment. The baby may be removed from their custody at birth because of these concerns.
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How Drugs Affect Women’s Fertility
Female fertility is especially susceptible to disruption and many drugs can disrupt the proper function of the processes involved in conception. With men, it comes down to whether or not they produce viable sperm. With women, however,many factorsand systems that must be working properly, such as:
- Hormone production – multiple hormones from multiple glands (thyroid, pituitary, hypothalamus, adrenals, and ovaries)
- Menstrual cycles
- Ovulation
- The reproductive tract, including the cervix, uterus and fallopian tubes
Even legal drugs can affect fertility in women. Inone study, alcohol use was found to decrease women’s fertility by more than 50% and this effect was magnified if they also used caffeine. Even in women who didn’t drink alcohol, consuming the caffeine equivalent of more than one cup of coffee per day was found to reduce the ability to conceive.
In addition,tobaccothickens cervical mucus and blocks sperm from reaching the egg. Tobacco use in womenhas been shownto delay pregnancy by more than a year on average and cuts the chances of conceiving by more than half.
Data from the U.S.National Survey on Drug Use and Healthshows that 55% of women of childbearing age drink alcohol, 23% smoke cigarettes and 10% use illicit drugs. Further, 10% ofpregnantwomen drink alcohol, 15% smoke cigarettes and 5% use illicit substances.
Illicit Drugs and Women’s Fertility
Illicit drugs affect women’s fertility in avariety of different ways. For women who use more than one of these drugs (such as someone who smokes, drinksalcohol and uses marijuana), the effects can add up:
- Cannabis disrupts the menstrual cycle and decreases ovulation
- Stimulants, such ascocaineand crystalmeth, cause adverse effects at most levels of the reproductive system and cause a high rate of miscarriages
- Opioidsdisrupt pituitary and hypothalamus hormone production, causing menstrual irregularities and halting ovulation
Drug misuse is also associated with risky sexual behavior, which can cause unwanted pregnancies. Risky sexual behavior may also lead to sexually transmitted infections that can result in infertility, including pelvic inflammatory disease.
Drug use can also lead to weight loss, poor nutrition, sleep disruption and general physical deconditioning. Each of these side effects can interrupt menstrual cycles and ovulation.
Prescription Drugs and Women’s Fertility
A large number of prescription medications can affect female fertility. These include thyroid medications and medications formental health disorders. Women who are planning to get pregnant should discuss their medications with their physician.
Manyprescription drugsare also misused substances, and they can have serious consequences on the ability to get pregnant, the pregnancy itself and the health of the baby. Commonly misused prescription drugs include opioids (pain medication), stimulants (medication for conditions such as attention deficit disorder) and other psychotropics (medication that affects the brain’s chemistry). Prescribed medications are frequently the “gateway” to addiction and illicit drug use.
How Drugs Affect Men’s Fertility
Infertility in men is much less complicated than it is in women, and it’s often related to sperm production. Drugs can affect the natural production of the male sex hormone testosterone, which negatively affects sperm production. Male fertility may also be affected by erectile dysfunction and the loss of sex drive caused by drug use, as well as the unhealthy lifestyle that often accompanies drug use.
Legal drugs are especially harmful to male fertility. Sperm function is22%poorer in tobacco smokers compared to non-smokers. In addition, drinking more than14 ounces of alcoholper week can cut natural testosterone production and increase female hormone (estrogen) levels in males. This reduces sperm production, erectile function, and sex drive.
Illicit Drugs and Men’s Fertility
A number of drugscan have a negative effect on a man’s ability to father a child. Substance use lowers production of testosterone, which negatively affects sex drive, healthy sperm production, and erectile function. Aboutone-quarterof men under age 35 use illicit drugs, including:
- Anabolic steroids:Steroids are used for enhancing muscle building and have many adverse health effects, including blocking healthy sperm production
- Stimulants:Stimulants are associated with reduced sperm production and can also cause lifestyle behaviors that reduce fertility
- Cannabis:Cannabis decreases sperm production
- Opioids:More than halfof opioid users have deficient ability to produce viable sperm
Prescription Drugs and Men’s Fertility
A number ofprescription medicationscan interfere with male fertility, many of which are themselves potential drugs of misuse. These include prescription opioid pain medications, stimulants and psychotropic medications for mental health disorders.
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