Weed has been the common enemy no.1 for a long time now, despite the fact that it’s been legalized in the vast majority of US states and has a quite generous array of beneficial effects on one’s health.
Misinformed people always badmouth cannabis but the ones who smoke or ingest it on a regular basis know it’s innocuous. When we’re talking about marijuana use during pregnancy, though, things get a little bit unclear.
The Problem with Weed Smoking While Pregnant
The greatest issue is the fact that we don’t know whether it’s safe or not to smoke cannabis while carrying a baby. The limited amount of research on this topic is the result of experiments on pregnant animals.
Scientists have found out that delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, marijuana’s active compound, can easily cross the blood barrier to the fetus. Unfortunately, that’s all they know. The genuine effects that the plant has on babies are largely unknown.
There have been rumors that cannabis use during pregnancy is associated with high risks of premature birth, stillbirth, and birth “defects”, so to speak, like lower weight, a smaller circumference of the head and a smaller length. Photo by Averie Woodard on Unsplash
These effects, however, are not backed by science and there have been 0 reports on them actually happening to people. This is largely due to the fact that, for a long time, the way in which cannabis affects one’s system after it’s smoked was unknown.
Now we’re coming a little closer to the truth, as we know how it works from the very first drag to the last.
No Reliable Studies
Some say marijuana is directly responsible for various birth defects, while others say this is impossible. Many of the women who have been given cannabis in order to see what effects it has on the pregnancy also smoked cigarettes.
Therefore, it’s really difficult to reach a common ground: it could be the tobacco that causes all those defects, or it could be the THC in the weed.
The main concern about pot-using while carrying a baby is that it may cause a slow development of the baby’s brain and subsequently affect its cognitive abilities. But then again, there is no scientific research to base this on. Quite frustrating, isn’t it?
The Conclusion
Although the effects of cannabis on a woman’s body while pregnant are unknown and speculative at best, we recommend you refrain from smoking until you’ve given birth. If there’s a shred of true evidence in all this, then you shouldn’t really take any risks.
You can also do some more research on the topic or at least keep an eye on new studies that might finally clear out this issue. If you’re eligible for medical cannabis, you can discuss this with your physician (Instructions to Getting a License for Medical Cannabis).
Once the weed you take is devoid of THC, you might be able to take it without a worry.
