The use of cannabis
among women in California has been on the rise, according to a new study. And
even pregnancy doesn’t stop all of them, apparently.
Pregnant Women Are Using More Cannabis Before and After Pregnancy
Published in the JAMA
Network Open journal Friday, the study looks at the pregnancies of more than
276,000 women who received coverage from healthcare company Kaiser Permanente
Northern California between 2009 and 2017. The researchers found that the use
of cannabis increased both before and during pregnancy in this period.
The increase isn’t as
stark during pregnancy—1.95 percent to 3.38 percent—but it’s more dramatic
before—6.8 percent to 12.5 percent of the women sampled. And the increase can
be seen in daily, weekly, and monthly cannabis use. The authors hypothesize
that this shift in behavior may be related to the normalization of cannabis
use, as well as the growing knowledge around actual harms from cannabis.
Research Not Conclusive
Now, cannabis use
during pregnancy still remains a big, shiny question mark. A lot of research,
however, hasn’t painted the best picture: from the potential for psychosis to brain malformations. A lot of this research is
just beginning, though, so it’s not conclusive. Not yet. So women who plan to
smoke while pregnant should exhibit serious caution until the impacts are fully
understood.
The women sampled in
this study represent the realities of many women, however. The sample is
diverse with a range of ages represented, as well as ethnicities. Most of the
women were white, 25 to 34-year-olds, but a little diversity is always better
than none, which is all too common in cannabis studies.
The study authors do note that cannabis use before and during pregnancy was
most common among the younger participants, black participants, and/or those
with a lower income. The study is based on self-reported data, so there’s
always a chance that patients are misreporting by accident or, well, lying on
purpose. That’s a major limitation to the study as individuals may underreport
their usage.
Authors Speculate Reason For Increase
Cannabis use during pregnancy may be a result of all the shittiness women feel during pregnancy. There’s nausea, but also the stress. The study authors speculate if the symptoms related to pregnancy have anything to do with this rise, as well.
There’s still a lot
for them to examine, but this study offers a strong starting point, especially
given the large sample of women it included. What they’ve gotta figure out now
is the impact all this is having on women who smoke. A related commentary in
the journal notes that there’s enough we don’t know for health professionals to
advise pregnant women to take a break from the herb while they’re pregnant.
After all, if you
can’t ensure your baby’s safety, then why not wait until it’s just your body
you have to worry about. Then, you can smoke all the weed you want.