Marijuana use by pregnant women increases study shows

Marijuana use in pregnancy has doubled among U.S. women and is most common during the first trimester, government research shows.

The study, as reported on in USA Today and over news outlets, shows overall, 7% of pregnant women, or 1 in 14, said they used marijuana in the past month. That's from a nationally representative health survey in 2016-17 and compares with a little over 3% in 2002-03.  One reason women tried marijuana during pregancy was due to morning sickness nausea.

Some studies have linked marijuana use during pregnancy with increased chances of premature birth and low birth weight. Animal studies have linked high doses early in pregnancy with fetal brain abnormalities, but whether typical use in humans poses similar risks is unknown, said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

"Because we don't know exactly how harmful it is, it's better to err on the side of caution," said Volkow, one of the authors of the government study. Marijuana use during pregnancy "is not worth the risk," she said Tuesday.

 

Chiropractic care during pregnancy is 100% natural and completely drug free with zero harmful affects to the developing fetus.  Chiropractor's trained in chiropractic obstetrics help women during the 9 months of pregnancy with many different conditions.  Conditions such as pelvic imbalance, sciatica leg pain, carpel tunnel syndrome, hip pain and low back pain have all been presented in the pregnancy chiropractor's office. Zero drugs are prescribed and the treatments are extremely gentle and specific adjustments to the involved areas.  In addition, chiropractors trained in Webster's technique have been successful in releasing uterine constraint and helping breech positioned babies to turn naturally to the head down position.

Author

Dr J. Zimmerman, Chiropractor Dr. Zimmerman is a practicing chiropractor from Galloway, NJ with 30 years of chiropractic practice.