Marijuana use by expecting moms is associated with unhealthy pregnancy outcomes, especially low birth weight babies, a new study finds.
Further, heavier weed use is associated with higher risks for the pregnancy, the researchers added.
“Cannabis use is not safe,” said senior researcher Dr. Robert Silver, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at University of Utah Health. “It increases the risk of pregnancy complications. If possible, you shouldn’t use cannabis during pregnancy.”
In the past decade, the percentage of Americans using medical marijuana has more than doubled, and state-level recreational legalization has become increasingly common, researchers said in background notes.
Some previous studies have found no association between weed use and pregnancy complications, but those results have been inconclusive because there are “so many differences between baseline characteristics of people who use and don’t use cannabis during pregnancy,” lead researcher Dr. Torri Metz, vice chair of research of obstetrics and gynecology at Utah, said in a university news release.
For example, there are different rates of anxiety and depression between pregnant women who use or don’t use cannabis, and those differences can also impact pregnancy risk, Metz…
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