According to an article on modernhealthcare.com, a study that has yet to be released out of Colorado has found that a nursing mother who smokes marijuana once will have the drug’s psychoactive element THC in her breast milk for at least six weeks or longer.
Modernhealthcare.com has reported that the soon to be released study shows how long THC can still live in breast milk after the mother smokes.
“We are in the opioid crisis due to expanding prescriptions for opioids with little thought to the consequences of widespread use, including use during pregnancy,” stated Dr. Lauren M. Jansson, director of pediatrics for the Johns Hopkins Center for Addiction and Pregnancy. “My fear is that we will see the same thing with marijuana.”
Authors, neonatologist Dr. Erica Wymore and pediatrician Dr. Maya Bunik both work out of Children’s Hospital Colorado.
Bunik and Wymore have discussed issues with “cognition, executive function and early depression” in children ages 8 to 12 whose mothers self-reported exposure.
“We know that self-report actually underestimates” Bunik pointed out.
“The moms said, ‘I couldn’t deal and needed to smoke,’ ” Bunik explained. “That for us is concerning. You probably need to start discussions [about use] early in pregnancy. By the time the baby arrives they’re accustomed to using as part of a coping mechanism.”
Jansson has applied for grants so that she can study marijuana-dependent mothers and impacts of cannabis on their infants before and after birth but there is no interest she says.
“There’s no interest there, right now,” she said. “So I’m doing preliminary research and describing the effects I’m seeing.”
