A new study has recently revealed a slight but significant increase in dangerous obstetric complications among those pregnant women who use marijuana.
A study in California that looked at data from around 317,000 pregnancies has found that women who used the drug had a higher chance of developing gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, excessive weight gain, and placental abruption- a condition that separates the placenta from the uterine wall.
This study was recently published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Many studies suggest that cannabis use during pregnancy can increase some fetal risks such as low birth weight, preterm birth, and neonatal ICU care. But some women use cannabis for sleep, stress, pain, depression, and morning sickness. But many women still think it is a safer alternative to prescription medications, according to a team led by Kelly Young-Wolff.
In this study, researchers used the medical records of 250000 pregnant women in northern California. They wanted to understand the impact of marijuana use on mom-to-be. They involved self-reported, or toxicology testing of the women’s marijuana use levels during pregnancy.
When researchers observed the collected data, they found that 6.3% of these women used cannabis during their pregnancy. They also found that prenatal cannabis use was linked to a small but significant increase in dangerous obstetric complications. It increased the risk of gestational hypertension by 17% and pre-eclampsia by 8%. Cannabis use also increased the risk of placental abruption and abnormal weight gain during pregnancy. But researchers also found that women who used marijuana had a slightly lower risk of developing gestational diabetes.
In this study, researchers have found a complex link between prenatal cannabis use and maternal health. But the exact reasons behind this trend are still unknown.
The results of this study clearly show that prenatal cannabis use increases the risk of some complications such as hypertension, placental abruption, and low birth weight. Hence healthcare professionals should consider this study and suggest pregnant women avoid cannabis use. This can effectively reduce the risk of many health complications and save many lives.
