Smoking cannabis ‘doubles risk of pregnant women giving birth to their babies prematurely’
- In the US, cannabis ‘dispensaries’ recommend the drug for morning sickness
- The news comes despite a growing belief that cannabis is harmless
- In the study, one in eight who smoked while pregnant delivered before 37 weeks
Doctors have warned women not to smoke cannabis during pregnancy after a landmark study found those who do face double the average risk of going into labour prematurely.
The news comes despite a growing belief among young people that cannabis is harmless because it is ‘natural’ and may have medicinal properties.
In the US, cannabis ‘dispensaries’ even recommend the drug to combat morning sickness.
Doctors have warned women not to smoke cannabis during pregnancy as it increases the chances of premature birth
But now Canadian researchers have found that cannabis use during pregnancy is linked to a much higher possibility of a premature birth – putting the baby at serious risk.
The study found that almost one in eight women who smoked cannabis while pregnant delivered before 37 weeks, which is classed as premature. In contrast, the chance of a premature birth for women who avoided the drug was just one in 17.
Those who used cannabis in pregnancy were also more likely to suffer a serious complication called placental abruption, during which the placenta separates from the wall of the womb. The condition can be fatal for the unborn child.
In addition, the babies of cannabis smokers were more likely to require care on a neonatal ward, according to the research, reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Dr Pat O’Brien, of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said: ‘This new study adds to a growing body of evidence which shows smoking cannabis during pregnancy is associated with adverse outcomes for women and their children, including pre-term birth.
Pro-dope MP’s drug scare
A senior Tory has revealed how his partner became so paranoid after taking cannabis that he feared the MP wanted to kill him.
Crispin Blunt had a cannabis mint in California
Ex-Prisons Minister Crispin Blunt said the pair experienced the drug’s effects during a trip to California.
He said at the opening of a shop in Bath selling products made from CBD, a legal form of cannabis: ‘We had a cannabis mint each.
‘After 20 minutes, nothing had happened so we had another one. My partner got paranoid… he got into his brain that I’d brought him there to murder him.’
Mr Blunt chairs a group pushing for cannabis laws to be relaxed and he predicts that the drug will be legal in Britain within five years.
‘There are safety concerns around the use of cannabis during pregnancy, such as impaired foetal brain development, stillbirth, low birth weight and pre-term birth, as well as the adverse effects of smoking for both mother and baby.’
He urged expectant mothers who were regular cannabis users to seek help from their midwife.
In the study, researchers examined 661,617 births between 2012 and 2017 in Ontario, where pregnant women are routinely asked about their drug use.
Among these women, 5,639 admitted using cannabis during pregnancy. Researchers found the smokers were at double the risk of having a premature birth than non-users.
The team also tried to account for the possibility that women who smoke cannabis in pregnancy might be at a higher risk of premature birth for other reasons, such as being more likely to smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol.
After performing this analysis, they still found women using cannabis in pregnancy were 41 per cent more likely to have a premature birth than women who did not.
Professor Daniel Corsi, lead author of the report, said: ‘We recommend against using cannabis in pregnancy.
‘The best advice for women would be to speak to their healthcare provider, physician or midwife to discuss alternatives to cannabis for treating morning sickness.’
A previous British survey found that one in 50 women smoked the drug in pregnancy.
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