Medical Marijuana Use During Pregnancy Linked To Babies’ Birth Defects, Developmental Delays & Learning Disabilities

Medical marijuana is known for treating or easing the symptoms of a variety of health conditions, but it also carries serious risks. Researchers found that medical marijuana use during pregnancy can have long-term effects on the developing fetus in the womb.

A research published recently in the journal BioMed Central (BMC) Pharmacology and Toxicology is calling for more analysis on the effects of medical marijuana to developing fetus when smoked or eaten by their mothers. A research team from Georgetown University Medical Center found that tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, the chemical responsible for the majority of marijuana's psychological effects, is capable of reaching the placenta and thus, the fetus.

THC clearance in the human placenta can be slow. This results to prolonged fetal exposure that can damage the developing fetus more.

G. Ian Gallicano, the study's senior investigator, said in a statement published on Georgetown University Medical Center's website that using marijuana in early pregnancy has the same health risks as tobacco use. This includes miscarriage, birth defects, developmental delays and learning disabilities. Research done on animals also found that marijuana use is linked to more developmental issues.

Gallicano, an associate professor of biochemistry and molecular & cellular biology at the university, acknowledged THC's ability to treat cancer by impeding tumor growth and killing cancer cells. However, those capabilities also make THC as a damaging chemical for fetuses.

"Embryo development has similarities to tumor formation -- it turns on growth pathways that are necessary for development," Gallicano added in the statement. Twenty-five U.S. states and DC legalized medical marijuana, according to ProCon.org. The drug's THC content lowers nausea, boosts appetite, and decreases pain, inflammation (redness and swelling) and muscle control issues, the National Institute on Drug Abuse reveals.

Marijuana's cannabinoids -- THC and cannabidiol (CBD) -- can mess up the use of folic acid or vitamin B9, which is important for normal development and growth of the human placenta and embryo. Lack of folic acid is connected to low birth weight, increased risk of miscarriage and neural tube defects such as spina bifida that causes physical and intellectual disabilities.

THC and other chemicals found in marijuana "alter molecular pathways that shouldn't be disrupted during development of a fetus," Gallicano added. When an essential neural pathway called BDNF gets disturbed, babies have a higher likelihood of developing congenital disorders and impairment such as autism and low IQ.