Does Marijuana Affect Pregnancy

Does Marijuana Affect Pregnancy?

Marijuana is a narcotic obtained from the herb Cannabis Sativa or Cannabis Indica wherein it is utilized both for recreational and therapeutic uses. With that, some pregnant women utilize marijuana but what they apply on their skin, consume, and toke may affect their baby as researchers are still not confident how the narcotic can trouble the fetus and address the question, “Does Marijuana Affect Pregnancy?” As such, the majority of the doctors suggest refraining from toking marijuana throughout pregnancy.

Besides, marijuana is an illegal narcotic, which women frequently consume throughout pregnancy, and its utilization is raising in certain states. Since the system of laws is relaxing in other areas in the world, researchers need to discover when marijuana is secure to utilize especially for pregnant women. With that, in this write-up, let us acquire knowledge on the feasible hazard of toking marijuana during pregnancy, and what the specialists suggest.

What Do Doctors Say?

Medical Practitioners say that it is great to stay away from marijuana while a woman is pregnant because of the following reasons:

  • If pregnancy gives her a feeling of nauseous wherein all the food she consumes upsets her stomach, she is somehow willing to attempt anything to get out of her morning sickness and regain her appetite. 
  • She may as well be grappling with some pre-baby nervousness and is looking for a good method to relax her nerves. 
  • Some mom-to-be turn to marijuana because of their nausea, anxiety, and carry on to toke when they had done before they got pregnant, particularly now that it is lawful in some areas. 

With the abovementioned statements, the questions now are “Is consuming marijuana if you are anticipating a pregnancy a safe treatment for morning sickness as well as anxiety or a hazardous routine that may risk your baby?” and “Does Marijuana Affect Pregnancy?” People working in the field of medicine and other health specialists say that marijuana consumption throughout pregnancy is not safe and must be kept away totally. Various researches conclude that it can affect pregnancy, the growing fetus and its development, and the health of the pregnant woman herself.

The Concern On Utilizing Marijuana During Pregnancy

Some midwives suggest aperiodic to average marijuana utilization throughout pregnancy to alleviate morning sickness and anxiety. In the end, devouring healthy foods to have weight, and keeping free from stress is vital to having a good physical condition during pregnancy. However, due to the active narcotic in marijuana, which is the tetrahydrocannabinol or THC changes all kinds of procedures in the body that begin from the heart rate up to the function of the brain, there is a nice ground to trust that marijuana can affect pregnancy. If marijuana is toked or consumed by a mom-to-be, this, together with THC intersects the placenta and goes into a fetus’ bloodstream. With that, she is sharing the narcotic with the baby. 

Nonetheless, experts do not have all the solutions regarding the results of THC on the baby in the uterus. The difficulty with research about marijuana and pregnancy is that clinical experiments are not feasible and the women joining in the study may gainsay consuming marijuana even though they do or downplay the number of consumption they have had. Some of them use cigars or cigarettes that can make it more difficult to know the findings. However, there are proofs to recommend that marijuana may have an effect on the pregnancy as well as the child, and there are things that are not yet wholly understood, the most secured stake is to steer comprehensible.

With these grounds, various organizations like the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and the like all utter that pregnant and breastfeeding moms must keep away from marijuana. And considering the developing trend of pregnant women using marijuana for morning sickness and other signs, the AAP released its first authorized directions on marijuana utilization, pregnancy, and breastfeeding last 2018. In their current suggestions, the organization strongly asserts that pregnant women as well as nursing mothers must not utilize marijuana in any kind since it is not safe for them and even the babies. Additionally, CBD oil is as well not contemplated safe for consumption throughout pregnancy and specialists say to steer comprehensible since the results on the fetus and a pregnant woman are not known yet.

How Marijuana Consumption Affect Pregnancy and The Baby

Pieces of research have concluded that consuming marijuana on a daily or weekly basis can make a pregnant woman more high-risk. A study has discovered that babies who are born to mothers who utilize marijuana are more probably to end up in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in contrast to other newborn babies, underweight during birth, premature, and have smaller heads circumference during birth. This may as well grow the possibility of stillbirth. Utilizing marijuana can also change the discernment of pregnant women and make them giddy, putting on to the faintness that some mom-to-be encounters and to the possibility of harm or falls.

Pieces of research have concluded that the vulnerability of marijuana to the uterus can change the fetus’ brain. A group of experts discovered that the part of the brain that holds emotion, which is known as the amygdala, displayed unusual outcomes in male fetuses whose moms toked marijuana throughout pregnancy. Since marijuana can trouble memory and cognitive capability in grown-ups, experts have confidence that it may have the same effect on the brain of a fetus, neurotransmitters, and biochemistry, also in the amount of oxygen taken, and can change the heart rate of the fetus. Since marijuana can remain in the system for a length of time, a baby’s vulnerability to it in the uterus may be longer compared to what the mother perceives.

The Long-term Upshots of Marijuana to Children Whose Moms Utilized It During Pregnancy

Doctors and scientists are convinced that marijuana utilization throughout pregnancy can affect the development of the brain of the child as well as his/ her behavior throughout time. Pieces of research have concluded that toddlers and children born to marijuana-toking mothers might receive low scores in cognitive, memory as well as behavioral examinations compared to other children and have a higher possibility of impulse control problems, extremely active, and inattention. Also, some studies have concluded that there is a connection between marijuana utilization throughout pregnancy and lower marks in reading comprehension, spelling, and examinations in Math.

With that, it simply means that when a woman toked marijuana before she got pregnant, she can put down any troubles, which will affect her pregnancy and even her baby. There is no proof that marijuana utilization before pregnancy can hurt the fetus. However, it can obstruct her effort at attempting to become pregnant if she is still in the stage of a wanted pregnancy. So, it is great to remove the routine as soon as she begins attempting.

The Final Notion 

Does marijuana affect pregnancy? This question has been answered above and it is absolutely, yes. It is dangerous to toke marijuana during pregnancy due to the possibility of untimely labor, pregnancy difficulties, and results on the child in the uterus and later in his/ her life.

When you are searching for other methods to alleviate morning sickness, particularly when it is serious, ask your doctor for recommendations as there are natural treatments that are safer compared to marijuana and medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Relying on the origin of your anxiety, your medical practitioner can suggest a mixture of therapy, and if important, medication, which is safe for both of you.

When you consume marijuana throughout pregnancy, have an assurance to visit your doctor frequently. Also, do not skip your prenatal schedule just because you are concerned about disclosing your drug consumption. Just put in mind that your doctor must be your associate in having an assurance that your future baby is healthy. Having the right prenatal care signifies that you are honest with your doctor on how often you consume marijuana, which is the greatest method to eventually assure that you will have a joyous and healthy pregnancy and a baby to be.

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