6% of pregnant women reported using marijuana during the last month, according to a new study from the University of Georgia, and many did not associate it with health risks.
Published in the American Journal on Addictions, the study utilized responses from 4,338 pregnant mothers recorded in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. 5.7% of them reported using marijuana during the last month.
Within that group, 70.9% perceived little to no risk associated with marijuana use during pregnancy, even though it has been associated with low birth weight, premature birth and neurodevelopmental effects.
Marijuana use is legal for recreational use in 25 states and or medical purposes in 14 more. Two-thirds of the pregnant women who reported using marijuana lived in a state where medical marijuana was legal at the time of the survey.
“Marijuana is seen as a cure for nausea, but that’s not the way it should be dealt with in pregnancy because it is harmful for the mother and the fetus,” said lead researcher Mohammad Rifat Haider.
All of these numbers highlight a need for improved education efforts around marijuana use in pregnancy, Haider says. Doctors should be prepared to screen individuals for past substance use including regular marijuana use, and they should provide information on potential adverse effects of marijuana, especially in states where medical marijuana is legal.
