According to the 2022 US National Survey on Drug use and Health, 50% of people aged 18 and older have used cannabis and in 2021, 7.2% of pregnant women reported cannabis use within the last month. According to the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine protocol ‘Breastfeeding in the Setting of Substance Use and Substance Use Disorder’, cannabis products have been more potent and may be combined with synthetic cannabinoids and other artificial products. Cannabis use during pregnancy has been associated with neurocognitive and behavioral problems in children. Research on the effect of cannabis during lactation is less robust, but there is evidence for altered infant motor development. The American College of Obstetrics/Gynecology and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend avoiding cannabis during lactation.
The study for this week is a 2021 survey through BORN, a US research network of pediatric clinicians and researchers who evaluate care in the birth setting and transition to home. The survey evaluated hospital practices and nursery director knowledge and attitudes towards cannabis using during lactation. Sixty-nine nursery representatives across 38 states participated, with most states having legalized cannabis for either recreational or medical use.
The researchers found that 59% of hospital practices encouraged mothers to breastfeed if they had a positive cannabis screen at the time of delivery, and 23% discouraged but didn’t restrict breastfeeding. Approximately 10% restricted breastfeeding, and some based their decisions on the extent of cannabis use.
What else? See the question!
jennifer
Ironically many of these moms probably only used cannabis as a way to control pain in labor and do not regulary use it. And cannabis is a safer form of pain relief than Epidural drugs. How many moms tested positive for cannabis at 12 weeks postpartum? That would be a much better indicator. Probably a lot lower number. I think it’s an error to assume that a random test right after birth is giving us accurate information regarding which infants are truly at risk of long term exposure, and exposure worse than hospital supported Epidural drugs.
Felicia Termine-Bonner
What cannabis cessation materials do you recommend?