Using marijuana while pregnant has been considered dangerous by many doctors and now a recent Canadian study has found that using the drug during pregnancy can actually impact fetus development.
In a study using rats, researchers at Western University and Queen’s University found that when giving rats three milligrams of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) daily, for pregnant rats, the daily dose caused fetal restriction and decreased the birth weight by 8%. Further, it found daily cannabis use in rats resulted in a 25% reduction in the size of the brain and liver.
A self-reported cannabis study released in 2019 by Kaiser Permanente found that approximately 3.4% of women surveyed in 2017 used marijuana during their pregnancies. This is compared to only 1.9% in 2009.
The researchers stated, “Over the last decade, cannabis use has progressively increased in pregnant women, in part due to the perception that its usage poses no risk in perinatal life.”
