What risks do cannabis have for pregnancy? This is what a recent study published in JAMA Pediatrics hopes to address as a team of researchers investigated a link between cannabis use and the first four weeks of a newborn’s life, also known as neonatal period. This study has the potential to help researchers, medical professionals, and the patients better understand the long-term health risks of cannabis use during pregnancy and the steps that can be taken to mitigate these risks.
For the study, the researchers conducted a health records review regarding cannabis use during pregnancy and newborn health, which builds on several previous studies that analyzed the same connection. The previous 43 studies enlisted 19,436,940 participants, with this paper incorporating 8 new studies with 1,709, 998 participants, bringing the total number of participants to date at 21,146,938. In the end, the researchers found that cannabis use during pregnancy could result in increased likelihood of low birth weight, preterm birth, and small for gestational age.
“These findings tell me as an obstetrician that the placenta is not functioning as it normally would in pregnancy,” said Dr. Jamie Lo, M.D., M.C.R., who is an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Oregon Health and Science University School of Medicine and lead author of the study. “When the placenta isn’t functioning well, it can affect the baby’s development and growth.”
This study comes as a 2023 study published in the Journal of Perinatology identified increased use of cannabis during pregnancy between 2002 and 2020, with those researchers noting the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecology recommends completely cutting cannabis use during pregnancy due to potential harm to the fetus.
What new connections between cannabis use and pregnancy will researchers make in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!
As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!
Sources: JAMA Pediatrics, EurekAlert!, Journal of Perinatology