We know that alcohol and cigarettes
have a detrimental effect on pregnancy.
But have you wondered about the effects of marijuana?
It has been estimated that approximately,
50% of females who are marijuana users continue to use
marijuana during their pregnancy.
This raises the question:
What effects do cannabis use have during a pregnancy?
In the past two decades.
there has been an increase in the proportion of pregnant
women reporting marijuana use,
but it's important to understand why someone might use marijuana
in the first place and gain a better understanding of
the situation at hand.
Some women may feel inclined to use cannabis during their
pregnancy as it is known to relieve common symptoms,
such as nausea,
and vomiting.
However,
many individuals are not aware of the health risks that
cannabis may have on a Mother's unborn child,
regardless of your personal choice in the matter.
It is vital that you educate yourself on some of
the risks involved and put your best foot forward.
Unfortunately,
researchers today do not have a clear understanding of marijuana's
long-term effects. How it works in our body and how
marijuana might affect our genetic code.
THC,
the main active compound in marijuana,
is thought to be responsible for most of the mental
and physical alterations one experiences.
While we are unsure exactly how THC functions
within the body and the brain,
a study has shown that injecting a pregnant mother with
THC results and an equal amount of THC in the
bloodstream of both the mother and the fetus. Once in
the bloodstream of the baby,
the drug can affect the process of brain development.
The use of cannabis can affect cannabinoid receptor cells.
These receptor cells are found throughout the body and play
a role in one's mood,
pain and memory. With the use of marijuana,
alternate signalling pathways can be developed in the brain and
can potentially affect the personality, emotions and the way individuals thinks.
In the case of cannabinoids, researchers have found a
link between maternal use of marijuana during pregnancy.
and the way that these receptor cells function and change
in the development of a baby.
Although this link between cannabis and receptor changes,
often result in negative effects.
We should always be critical of making final judgments.
Perhaps the negative effects of cannabis arrayed against positive effects
that we currently do not know of. Needless to say,
it is always better to err on the side of
caution. Let's take a look at a time-line of effects
that cannabis might have on a baby's development all the
way into adulthood. Mother's that smoke cannabis
throughout pregnancy,
were found to have newborn babies with lower birth weights
and reduced dopamine receptor level.
The same children would move on to present with reduced
verbal reasoning skills,
as well as impaired short-term memory.
Additionally,
children were at higher risk for showing anxiety,
depression,
impulsivity,
inattention,
and hyperactivity. Moving into adolescence we see
a reduction in abstract reasoning skills and a further
increase in depressive symptoms as well as anti-social and delinquent
behaviours. At the last stage of development,
adults exhibit a reduction in their visio-spatial memory abilities
and are significantly more likely to show signs of drug-
seeking behaviors.
Current Research indicates a potential relationship between marijuana exposure and
a child's intelligence. Mothers who smoked a joint a day
or more during their first
trimester were shown to have children with, on average
a deficit in the ability to understand concepts and logically
express them through words,
smoking throughout the second and third,
trimester resulted in a lessened understanding of mathematics and the
ability to apply mathematical concepts to the real world.
Additionally,
second trimester cannabis use further includes a reduction in cognitive
functioning and short-term memory.
This effect was shown to result in an average five-point
reduction of a child's IQ by the time they
turn 6 years old.
Most importantly,
these cognitive deficits range,
in intensity,
and affect based,
primarily on the level of exposure to marijuana.
Not only is the timing of marijuana usage,
important to the child's development.
But so is the amount of marijuana smoked.
So what can pregnant mothers do?
According to the research that is currently available.
It is recommended to avoid smoking cannabis throughout pregnancy.
However,
if a mother does choose to smoke and it is
probably best to avoid use
during the first trimester in particular,
as smoking during this trimester has been shown to have
the greatest negative effect on the development of a fetus.
As these effects are dose-dependent by smoking less cannabis,
the effects are also less severe.
Overall cannabis is widely seen as a harmless drug,
yet much of the science behind it
s unclear and needs to be further investigated.
However,
its use during pregnancy is not advised due to the
facts that we have just explored together.
We hope that if you are an expecting mother,
this new information can help you make an informed decision.