Can You Consume Cannabis During Pregnancy?

The marijuana landscape is constantly evolving and this has a direct impact on how people perceive the herb. People have, for the longest time, viewed marijuana as a gateway drug. That is a negative connotation and it affects how people consume marijuana.

As marijuana is becoming legal, more and more people are coming on board with the idea of marijuana as a medicine.

Marijuana is effective in mitigating a lot of symptoms associated with pregnancy. Morning sickness, appetite resurgence, nausea, and anxiety are all conditions that are effectively handled by smoking cannabis. While you can always get an MMJ card for these individual symptoms from platforms like NY Medical Card, it’s not something advised to pregnant women. 

Why? Because it is still very difficult to understand what might affect the baby when it comes to smoking marijuana. The question on everyone’s mind is even though you are managing the mother’s symptoms, what are you doing to the baby?

Please note that our findings don’t take into account the mothers who also drink and smoke. Those things are already categorized as detrimental to the fetus. Our findings are mainly for people who use medical cannabis.

Understanding The Prevalence

As the second most illicitly used drug in the country, it is only a natural progression for the drug to be the most prevalent drug used during pregnancy. About 2-5% of pregnant women report usage. This number climbs higher in the young, urban and socioeconomically backward population.

Studies have tried time and again to figure out the exact number of women smoking marijuana during pregnancy. But because of the considerable difference between different sections of the society, this number is difficult to obtain.

Potential Side Effects

There is a link between cannabis and increased risk of complications. Some complications that seem to be on the forefront are

• Premature Birth
• Low Birth Weight
• Small Length
• Small Head Circumference
• Stillbirth

What About After the Baby Is Born?

No human clinical trial has happened yet in case of pregnancy and cannabis. The only study we do has animals as subjects.

The offspring of the animals exposed to THC did show brain development issues.

Cannabis has gained notoriety because of the fact there are hardly any withdrawal symptoms associated with the herb. So, children that are born to mothers smoking during pregnancy show no signs of withdrawal.

But babies of women who continued to smoke throughout the pregnancy might put their children at risk as they get older.

The research is conflicting, the older one shows that there are no long term issues. The new one shows that there are problems.

Some people call THC a developmental neurotoxin. The children exposed to THC in the womb might have trouble with memory, controlling impulses, school performance, and attention.

 

The federal ban, still in place, has made research incredibly difficult to carry out.

Growing Misconceptions

A large number of cannabis users have made the switch from smoking to vaping. Vape pens use water vapor instead of smoke and are thought to be a healthier option. Then there are edibles since it is food, how can it be bad? It is.

A large number of women feel that vaping and edibles are perfectly fine methods to consume marijuana. That is not the case. Since these preparations have THC, the active psychoactive ingredient, it still poses a threat to the unborn child. Whether you have a medical card or not, using THC infused products during pregnancy may not be a wise choice.

Any kind of exposure to a neurological agent is bound to be bad for a developing baby. This isn’t science, it is common sense. But since we don’t know if it is safe, it isn’t worth the risk.

Medical Marijuana Is Out Too

Statewide legalization is what has started this conversation in the first place. Medical marijuana now available in 33 states, is the instigator. Expectant mothers are approaching doctors for licenses to deal with nausea.

But that has not gone down well as:

• There are no standard dosages
• Formulations are not standard
• Delivery systems are unreliable
• It lacks approvals from the FDA

Just these reasons alone warrant women who wish to become pregnant or the ones that are already pregnant to not use cannabis in any shape or form.

If women still wish to not use pharmaceuticals there are various other alternative forms of treatment available on the market that can help out.

Doctors recommend against indulging in cannabis usage during pregnancy. The market is full of strains of different kinds of marijuana and this mass availability has had a direct impact on the additives that began to creep into the strains.

Plus, as stated above, cannabis increases the chances of complications while trying to conceive, during the pregnancy as well as after the baby is born.

But, the research is scarce and the choice is yours. If or not you want to have cannabis. Our suggestion would be no.