Cannabis In Pregnancy

[pez]

Hi people...

Does anyone know anything about cannabis use in pregnancy? Cheers...

[Banglassie]

hey, I never had a problem using Cannabis while pregnant,

if you are used to it and you feel good using, nothing is wrong with using,

only you better use a vapo. then mixed it with tobbaco.

also didn't have a problem with giving birth at home while stoned and I had done it

five times.

cheers...

[Vlad (the impala)]

Pez mate, fella to fella - no problem whatsoever! - you go ahead and smoke right through the pregnancy - I did - no problem!

[bubblegumkid]

HI pez, Ive read a couple of things on it. The biggest problem is smoking it, but it can help morning sickness and a hole heap of other stuff. I got the info out of Cannabis Culture magezine. There web site www.canabisculture.com might have more info or try ordering back issue, Best of: winter 2002/03 also reckons the rasta women have bigger and fitter children than women that dont use it in the local area. hope this helps BGK

edit

Pez mate, fella to fella - no problem whatsoever! - you go ahead and smoke right through the pregnancy - I did - no problem!   

;) Edited December 6, 2003 by bubblegumkid

[shug]

Cannabinoids do not pass the placental barrier.

He/she/they? won't get stoned.

Yes, some research shows healthier babies, but it must be due to healthier mothers or less stress or some other method other than directly effect.

Once its legal then research will be allowed and we will find out much more about the benefits of cannabis use.

[pez]

Hi people...

Thanks very much for the info! Hopefully they will legalise it soon and some decent research can be done!

Pez

[maryjane]

Smoking tobacco products do pass the placenta barrier as does alcohol

but i have two strapping lads

ONE BORN WHILST HIGH AS A KITE----- SWALLOWED STASH

he was a month prem and was healthy born naturally with no complications

mj

[hipppiechick]

i have 5 kids i smoked while pregnant with 3 of them and they are all fit and healthy

[EnigmaticOne]

Hi,

I have 3 kids. I gave up smoking cannabis during my first pregnancy, as I was concerned about the health implications.

My second pregnancy was twins and I did continue to smoke cannabis the whole time.

All 3 of my children are healthy.....but I have to say that I felt a whole lot more calm and relaxed during the second pregnancy....due no doubt to my cannabis intake.

As far as I'm aware the only concern is when you mix it with tobacco to smoke it!

EO

[bongme]

Hi

Hope this helps, also there is more on the link page...

Cannabis and pregnancy

by

Balle J, Olofsson MJ, Hilden J

H:S Hvidovre Hospital, familieambulatoriet.

Ugeskr Laeger 1999 Sep 6; 161(36):5024-8

ABSTRACT

In two Copenhagen University hospitals 12,885 pregnant women, seen during the period 1.8.1992 to 30.04.1995, answered questionnaires regarding consumption of alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and other drugs. The prevalence of cannabis use was 0.8%. Women using cannabis but no other illicit drugs were each retrospectively matched with four randomly chosen pregnant women in the same period and the same age group and with same parity. Eighty-four cannabis users were included. These women were socioeconomically disadvantaged and had a higher prevalence of present and past use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. No significant difference in pregnancy, delivery or puerperal outcome was found. Children of women using cannabis were 150 g lighter, 1.2 cm shorter and had 0.2 cm smaller head circumference than the control infants. Controlling for the child's sex and maternal use of alcohol did not eliminate the significant differences in birthweight and length; however, they were eliminated by controlling for maternal tobacco smoking. It is concluded, that the use of cannabis is not a major prognostic factor regarding the outcome of pregnancy, but is an indicator of low socioeconomic status and use of other substances.

Cannabis and pregnancy

Bongme

[thebigfatWOW]

Found this study on the sudjuct, sorry it's so long.

Nova Institute

5.2 Pregnancy

In animals and man delta-9-THC crosses the placenta to the vascular system of the fetus. The course the THC concentration takes in fetal blood fairly coincides with that in the maternal blood, though fetal plasma concentrations were found to be lower compared to the maternal level in rats (Hutchings et al. 1987), in sheep (Abrams et al. 1985-1986), in dogs (Martin et al. 1977), and in monkeys (Bailey et al. 1987). In a study on dogs, the brain of the fetus showed a concentration that came to only one third of the mother's concentration half an hour after intravenous administration. This relationship was maintained with multiple administrations, indicating that the maternal plasma THC and not the fetal tissue is the actual source for the fetal plasma THC. Small quantities of THC also pass into the milk of the mothers. In a study on monkeys, 0.2% of the THC ingested by the mother appeared in the milk (Chao et al. 1976). Chronic administration leads to a THC accumulation in milk (Perez-Reyes and Wall 1982).

THC concentrations corresponding to normal marijuana use act on compound-specific binding sites (receptors). In early gestation, these have not yet been developed in the fetal brain so that, during this phase, cannabinoids lack a specific binding target (Hernandez et al. 1997). First cannabinoid receptors are detected at fetal age. However, their number progressively increases in postnatal life. In a study investigating the number of cannabinoid receptors during rat brain development, the receptors were found to multiply by five between the day of birth and the sixtieth day (grown-up rat) (Belue et al. 1995).

Non-receptor mechanisms such as the disruption of cell membranes require extremely high doses of THC. Thus, one can assume that no relevant THC effects will appear during early pregnancy though, they might occur in later gestation.

Four of the THC effects on pregnancy will be further analyzed:

1) Increase in birth complications

2) Increase in birth defects (i.e. heart defects, cleft palate)

3) Adverse pregnancy outcome (i.e. more premature births, low birth weight)

4) Adverse postnatal development or, respectively, impaired fetal brain development.

First epidemiological studies examining the prenatal effects of marijuana on man were published in the early eighties. Human studies are often subject of a number of methodical weaknesses that are not easily corrected and that may lead to inconsistent findings. Among these are:

_ The examined samples being too small. Especially if marijuana users and abstinent controls might differ only slightly, or if the relevant disorders are of a rare kind, such differences become evident only by examination of a large number of pregnant women and their children.

_ Uncertainties concerning the exact daily marijuana intake. As marijuana is an illicit drug, study participants may not be truthful in their answers to inquiries about their use. Therefore Shiono et al. (1995), in addition to the interviews, also took blood samples to be screened for cannabinoids. This often revealed a discrepancy between the results of the inquiry and those of the blood tests.

_ A lack of controlling and adjustment for confounding factors that may influence pregnancy. Thus, Cannabis consumption is often associated with a range of factors that, by themselves, may have effects on pregnancy, such as the consumption of other legal and illegal drugs. Education and socioeconomic status are of further relevance as they may influence the quality of nutrition during pregnancy and the prenatal care.

5.2.1 Birth complications

For many centuries, Cannabis has been used to alleviate the discomforts of childbirth. In the Western medicine of the 19th century, Cannabis preparations were employed to this end, also as they supported birth contractions. This effect, however, is not reliable according to historical reports (Mechoulam 1986).

A study by Greenland et al. (1982) established an elevated risk of abnormal progress of labor in 35% marijuana users when compared to 36 controls (Greenland et al. 1982). A frequent meconium staining (57% versus 25%) and an average longer duration of labor were found. In a second study of the same research group with a slightly enlarged population, these effects were much less significant (Greenland et al. 1983). The rate of a dysfunctional labor (43% versus 35%) and meconium staining (17% vs 13%) was only slightly elevated in marijuana users. Other researchers did not find any abnormalities in pregnancy. Thus, in a study of 291 women, Fried did not detect any significant differences in marijuana users under labor. Also Dreher et al. could not detect any significant features in the progress of labor when comparing thirty prenatally exposed mother/child pairs to thirty non-consuming pairs (Dreher et al. 1994). The collectives of Greenland et al. might have been selected and the higher rate of complications was possibly attributable to other circumstances.

Conclusion: There are isolated observations that suggest marijuana use during pregnancy might have adverse effects on the progress of labor. These were obtained by one research group in the early eighties and to date have not been confirmed. On the other hand, there are historical clinical reports of a beneficial effect that could be used therapeutically. These, however, were not fully reliable. There is no reason to believe that sub-psychotropic THC doses would have a negative effect on the progress of labor.

5.2.2 Birth defects

Animal studies: In some early animal studies, congenital malformations were found subsequent to the administration of high doses of THC (tabular review: Abel 1980). No pair-fed controls had been employed. A daily oral administration of up to 150 mg of THC in sesame oil, however, failed to have any effects on prenatal mortality, fetal weight, and the rate of internal and skeletal malformations in mice (Fleischmann et al. 1975). Subcutaneous injection of up to 100 mg/kg THC proved not to be fetotoxic (Keplinger 1973).

The marijuana-induced fetotoxicity in animals is enhanced by alcohol (Abel 1986). However, extremely high doses of marijuana, equaling 50-100 mg/kg THC, and relatively small quantities of alcohol (1 g/kg) were required to encounter this effect. Small doses of marijuana did not enhance fetotoxicity.

Hollister (1986) points out that "virtually every drug that has been studied for dysmorphogenic effects has been found to have them if the doses are high enough, if enough species were tested, or if treatment is prolonged" (p. 4).

Abel emphasizes the fact that findings of malformations were consistent only following exposure to relatively high doses and following the intraperitoneal route (direct delivery to the abdominal region) (Abel 1985). Not only due to the direct effects of THC, but also to the reduced maternal food and water consumption associated with high dosage, THC administration may account for many effects. According to Abel, the only reliably documented postnatal effect on offspring is a decrease in birth weight.

Human studies: In most epidemiological studies, evidence could not support any increase in congenital malformations following marijuana use during gestation. The only exception is a single early study (Hingson et al. 1982). Hingson and colleagues examined 1,690 mother/child pairs for effects of alcohol and marijuana use on embryonic development and fetal growth. Marijuana use was associated with the increase of a fetal syndrome known as alcoholembryopathy or fetal alcohol syndrome.

In all further epidemiological studies with many thousands of children, no such relation between marijuana use and fetal malformations was established (Astley 1992, Gibson et al. 1983, Knight et al. 1994, Linn et al. 1983, Witter and Niebyl 1990). Neither did a study investigating for various minor physical anomalies (MPAs) detect any significant Cannabis-related differences (O´Connel and Fried 1984).

Conclusion: Evidence today supports the fact that marijuana use during pregnancy does not produce any fetal malformations.

5.2.3 Pregnancy outcome

Most studies for the evaluation of marijuana-induced effects on pregnancy outcome examined the influence on duration of gestation and on birth weight or infant size, respectively. The results are inconsistent. Whereas some studies found a shorter duration of gestation or a decrease in birth weight, others did not discover any interference.

Duration of gestation: In a study of 7,301 births, the rate of premature births was found to be greatly enhanced by 25% in 36 mothers that self-reportedly smoked marijuana once a week (Gibson et al. 1983). Fried et al. (1984), after accounting for other potentially confounding factors, stated a dose-related decline in the length of gestation in 84 marijuana users when compared to abstinent women. In an extensive study by Linn et al. (1983) of 12,424 individuals, 10% of whom reported use of Cannabis, the only significant difference stated was a higher rate of precipitated labor in Cannabis users. Most studies, however, could not find any marijuana-induced modulation of the duration of gestation.

Birth weight and infant size: In a study by Abel (1984) pregnant rats were intubated with augmenting THC doses of 5 to 50 mg/kg per day until gestation day five and, subsequent to this, either 50 or 150 mg/kg from day six to parturition. In the high-dose group, no viable pups were born (the fetomortality was 100%). In the 50-mg-offspring, a decreased weight gain and a decreased birth weight was found. Hutchings et al. (1987) observed a decreased birth weight following a daily oral administration of 15 and 50 mg/kg THC. The decrement in birth weight and postnatal weight gain were dose-related. The THC-15 group reached the weight of the controls within a period of 11 days, whereas for the THC-50 group it took 32 days. Overall, the decrease in birth weight was not due to the THC-administration, but rather attributable to the reduced food and water intake of the exposed dams, as no significant difference was found compared to pair-fed controls.

In a study with 1,226 women, Zuckermann et al. (1989) found the neonatal weight significantly decreased by a mean of 79 grams and a decrease in size by a mean of half a centimeter in the newborns of marijuana users. Also, the study of Hingson et al. (1982) associated marijuana use during gestation with a lower birth weight. Another study found the elevated risk of a low birth weight only among white regular marijuana users whereas nonwhites (of Hispanic or African descent) were generally not at an increased risk (Hatch and Bracken 1986).

In most studies no relation between marijuana use and fetal growth was found (Day et al. 1991, Fried et al. 1984, Fried and O´Connell 1987, Gibson et al. 1983, Knight et al. 1994, Linn et al. 1983, Shiono et al. 1985, Tennes et al. 1985). Moreover, the question arises whether an average reduced birth weight of 79 grams, as observed by Zuckermann et al., is of any practical significance. Even though it was a perceptible statistical variation, it probably failed to be of any biological relevance (Pisacane 1989).

How does growth develop after birth? According to a study by Fried and O´Connell, (1987) the children of Cannabis users were on average heavier and taller than non-exposed children. In contrast to these results, another research group found that maternal use of marijuana was significantly and negatively related to a decreased infant size at eight months but not to weight and head circumference (Barr et al. 1984). Finally, a further study did not find any growth retardations at the age of one year (Tennes et al. 1985).

Conclusion: Animal studies found a dose-related decrement in birth weight induced by marijuana. These findings were obtained, however, at doses clearly beyond the range of a human consumption situation. Various epidemiological studies stated inconsistent effects of Cannabis use on length of gestation, birth weight and infant size. The majority of those studies, however, could not provide any evidence that the outcome of pregnancy was affected. Furthermore, there is no reference to an influence on postnatal growth development.

5.2.4 Brain development

The cannabinoid-anadamide receptor system might play an important part in cerebral development. The daily administration of 5 mg/kg THC to pregnant rats generated a doubling of activity of the enzyme tyrosine hydroxilase (TH) in specific brain cells of their fetuses (Hernandez et al. 1997). This enzyme is assumed to be a key factor in the development of TH-containing neurons and other neurons. Furthermore, animal studies established a disturbance of mesolimbic dopaminergic neurons among perinatally THC-exposed males, which persisted in adult animals (Garcia-Gil et al. 1997). Further mechanisms with effects on brain development remain under discussion (Navarro et al. 1995).

Animal studies: It is assumed that THC might have stronger toxic effects during the period of brain development than it does in adults. However, in animal studies behavioral alterations were only found in the offspring of those dams that had been exposed to extremely high THC doses during gestation. In a study of pregnant rats that had received 50 mg THC/kg per day, this gestational exposure did not affect the behavioral tests of their offspring (Abel 1984). By contrast, Hutchings et al. (1987) observed significantly longer latencies to attach to a nipple and impaired nipple attachment (repeatedly missing the nipple) in the offspring of rat dams that had been exposed to a daily oral administration of 50 mg/kg THC. No such impairments were observed among 15mg/kg-offspring when compared to controls. However, the authors presume that the alterations among the high-dose offspring were not a primary effect of THC toxicity but rather were secondary to the significant THC-induced reduction of food and water intake among the dams. This was borne out by the fact that no significant differences were found between THC-exposed animals and non-exposed controls when those were provided with an equally reduced food and water supply. Besides this, the activity level in the offspring was not impaired by high THC doses. Kwash et al. (1980) observed a decrease in learning abilities among the offspring following an injection of Cannabis resin in pregnant rats and they attributed this to the impeded postnatal weight gain. Navarro et al. (1995) observed that behavioral deficits and impairments of learning in the offspring were associated to comparatively low THC concentrations (1 and 5 mg/kg THC), whereas no such association existed with high concentrations (20 mg/kg). Other authors did not find any impaired learning (or memory) in animals (Charlebois and Fried 1980, Uyeno 1973, Abel 1984).

The concentrations of DNA, RNA and proteins in the brains of offspring whose mothers had been administered daily doses of 15 mg/kg THC did not differ from controls on day 7, 14 and 21 postnatal (Hutchings et al. 1991) A group, however, with a daily gestational exposure of 50 mg/kg THC showed a lower protein concentration on day 7 and 14 postnatal. Since the protein content correlates with the growth of neurons and the formation of neuronal links (synapses), a reduced protein synthesis may be considered as indices for the inhibition of neural processes. On day 21 postnatal the decrease was equalized.

Human studies: A study by Fried et al. (1987 B) found increased tremors and startles in those children whose mothers had regularly used marijuana during gestation in comparison to non-exposed controls on day 9 and 30 postnatal. In a sleep study, marijuana use was found to be associated with alterations in the sleep cycle of neonatals (Scher et al. 1988). Children aged three years from a different marijuana-using population showed a disturbance in their nocturnal sleep, waking up more often during the night (Dahl et al. 1995). Marijuana-exposed children aged 9 months achieved slightly lower mental test scores than non-exposed controls (Richardson et al. 1995). However, a difference was no longer found at the age of 19 months. In another study, children aged one year did not show any significant differences in their sleeping or eating habits, their mental functions, or psychomotor abilities (Tennes at al. 1985). The gestational exposure to marijuana was concluded not to produce a higher mortality rate by increasing the rate of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) (Ostrea et al. 1997). Dreher et al. on day three postnatal could not detect any differences between neonatals of marijuana users and those of non-consuming mothers in neuro-behavior assessments (Dreher et al. 1994, Dreher 1997). After one month, the differences became apparent in favor of the marijuana population: In the prenatally exposed children this was manifested in a greater liveliness, less irritability, less tremors; these children were more easily quieted and scored higher in their reaction to different stimuli (sound, light and touch).

Fried and colleagues pursued a longitudinal study of children until they reached school age (Fried 1995). However, between 6 months and 3 years of age no behavioral consequences of marijuana exposure were noted. At the age of 4 to 6 years, global intelligence still proved to be at a normal standard, though slight significant variations in their verbal abilities and their memory were stated. At the age of 9 to 12 their ability to speak and spell did not differentiate the exposed from the non-exposed children (Fried et al. 1997). At the end of the study the prenatally exposed children were not found to differ significantly in their neurobehavior from other children.

Conclusion: Animal studies even with high THC doses failed to establish any consistent supportive evidence for an impairment of brain development. The early neurologic symptoms found in neonatals by some researchers can be interpreted as withdrawal symptoms. Possible subtle inhibitions of cognitive functioning could appear in the sequel. However, these are inconsistent findings, not confirmed by other authors. Still, there is no reason to believe that sub-psychotropic THC doses could possibly affect the development of fetuses or neonates.

5.2.5 Summary

In their review on influences of Cannabis on pregnancy Levy and Koren (1990) pointed out the tendency of preferential publishing of those studies that find noxious effects, and leaving unpublished those that evaluate THC as a safe drug. However, even with this taken into account, there are only weak references to pregnancy being adversely affected by marijuana use. Animal studies found merely inconsistent evidence of health-impairing effects when administering doses of 10-20 mg/kg THC or more, that is 100 times the dose relevant to this study. There are references to a light impairment of brain development among children of chronic Cannabis users that, however, could not be validated by other authors. Also in consideration of the above mentioned animal findings, the NOAEL for different pregnancy-related parameters lies safely beyond or within the range of the human consumption situation of chronic marijuana users.

WOW