Does smoking marijuana cause birth defects?
Do illegal drugs cause birth defects? Women who use illegal drugs, or “street drugs,” can have babies who are small, premature, or have other health problems, such as birth defects. Women who use cocaine while pregnant are more likely to have babies with birth defects of the limbs, gut, kidneys, urinary system, and heart. Other drugs, such as marijuana and ecstasy, may also cause birth defects in babies. Women should not use street drugs while they are pregnant. It is also important that women not use street drugs after they give birth because drugs can be passed through breast milk and can affect a baby’s growth and development. Talk with your health care provider about ways to help you quit using street drugs before you get pregnant. Specifically, how does marijuana affect the fetus? Like alcohol and tobacco, marijuana use has been linked to low birth weight and premature babies. One study showed that marijuana use by the mother is associated with slow embryo growth and spontaneous a
. Smoking marijuana during pregnancy may affect your baby’s growth and the development of his nervous system. Studies have shown that children who were exposed to marijuana during pregnancy sometimes have problems focusing their attention and solving problems. Children of heavy pot users may also have problems with short-term memory, concentration, and judgment. (There’s no evidence so far, however, that marijuana use during pregnancy causes attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). One study even found that young children whose mothers smoked marijuana during pregnancy had a higher risk of leukemia than those whose mothers did not. What’s more, there’s no way to know if the pot you’re smoking has been laced with other drugs (such as PCP) or contaminated with pesticides, which would put your baby at even higher risk. And using marijuana increases the chance that your baby will have birth defects if you’re also drinking alcohol or smoking tobacco. If you smoked pot before you realized
No, it does not cause major birth defects. However, it is important that you do not do unneccesary drugs while pregnant. A website on Marijuana health effects says: “there’s some evidence that use during pregnancy could lead to unnecessary problems for a developing fetus, even raising levels of miscarriage and stillbirth.” From my studies in psychology, smoking (both cigarettes and marijuana) are heavily linked to low birth weight, premature delivery (which comes with a whole mess of negative side effects) and later cognitive learning issues that can affect school performance, behavior, and emotional health.
To be perfectly honest, the answer is that no one really knows. I know that answer doesn’t help you much, but that is the truth. The research is simply not in. Just google your question, and you’ll find so much info pop up, and a lot of it is scary as hell! But I wouldn’t necessarily believe any of it. The problem is that research done in America seems to be biased because pot is an illegal drug. Even my doctor said that we just don’t know what the effects of pot truly are, because no study has been done where pregnant women are controlled in a lab where they are given a certain amount of marijuana, and then where their children are followed around for twenty years afterward to see if their development is intact. A researcher, Melanie Dreher, studied pot-smoking pregnant women in Jamaica, and her findings are the exact opposite of a lot of what you’ll find on the internet. But even she will admit that more research is needed before definitive answers can be made. So don’t listen to the
I’ve looked into this, and what’s really funny is everyone here keeps saying things like “studies have shown…” maybe they think it makes them sound credible. The truth is there are NO studies that have provided any conclusive evidence that links THC with birth defects, or learning disabilities. The only thing anyone can logically say is it MIGHT lead to lower birth weights, or premature babies because marijuana is smoked. Everything else anyone says is pure speculation. Since cannabis is illegal, people tend to assume it’s dangerous. So don’t listen to any answers that say it is proven to cause this defect or that problem, because they are full of BS. However…since you don’t know, why take a risk with your unborn baby? (That’s my politically correct statement, but cannabis might be useful for treating the nausea and as an appetite stimulant) I’m going to post a link to a 25 year study of marijuana use among pregnant mothers in Jamaica, the findings are quite shocking. Anecdotal evi
