• prenatal maternal cannabis use

    Pregnancy and Marijuana: How Much Do We Really Know?

    With many states now considering the legalization of medical marijuana, there seems to be a growing sense that marijuana is relatively safe and may, in some cases, be more attractive or effective than traditional pharmacologic interventions.  We have witnessed this shift in attitude in our clinic, where many of our clinicians have been surprised to hear women ask questions about the dangers of using antidepressants and other medications during pregnancy while at the same time feeling relatively comfortable with their use of marijuana in the same setting.

    Intrauterine Cannabis Exposure Affects Fetal Growth

    Although the risks of smoking tobacco while pregnant are well documented and well publicized to the general population, women continue to smoke cigarettes during pregnancy. Smoking cigarettes is known to increase a woman's risk of having a low-birth weight baby and increases the risk of preterm delivery.  While clinicians often ask about and discourage tobacco use during pregnancy, much less attention has been devoted to the use of marijuana during pregnancy, despite the fact that marijuana is the most commonly consumed illicit drug among pregnant women.

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