Many Women Continue to Smoke Pot During Pregnancy

It is unhealthy for pregnant women  to smoke, more so when they smoke marijuana. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in an advisory calls pregnant women to never consume cannabis.

This might be a known fact and some might criticize ACOG for stating the obvious, but ACOG has its purpose for doing so. Its advisory warns that marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug by pregnant women, KTIC reports.

According to ACOG, smoking pot while pregnant has an adverse effect to the child. There is a tendency that the neurodevelopment of the child will be impaired.

A neurodevelopmental disorder is not something a mother should ever underestimate. According to American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry, a neurodevelopmental disorder is "a precise genetic or acquired biological brain disorder or condition that is responsible for childhood-onset brain dysfunction."

When a child has a severe neurodevelopmental disorder, it can cause "developmental disability" and may leave the child to suffer any of the following: mental retardation, cerebral palsy, epilepsy or autism.

The study revealed that there are three main categories of neurodevelopmental disorder causes: genetic, unknown and acquired. Acquired causes are subdivided into prenatal, perinatal and postnatal disorders.          

As per Medline Plus, prenatal exposure to marijuana may result to a smaller head circumference, lower scores on specific cognitive tests, including visual problems, decreased attention span and behavioral problems.

ACOG stated that at the moment there is insufficient data to know the different effects of marijuana to a child during lactation and breastfeeding. However, the committee is still discouraging OB/GYN to prescribe medical marijuana from pre-conception to lactation.

The vice chairman of the committee that issued the recommendation said, "Although we still need more research on the topic, the data we do have raises concerns regarding negative effects of marijuana on the growing fetus..," Medline Plus has learned.

Although there has been a growing debate about the medical effects of marijuana that some individuals from states not legalizing it are requesting for its legalization, it should be clear for pregnant mothers that it is unhealthy for them, especially for their unborn child. Its health benefits are not yet confirmed, but its negative effects to the developing fetus are proven.

The advisory is encouraging doctors to ask their pregnant patients if they are using marijuana and if they do, they should alert the mother of its effects to her child.

Expectant mothers should keep themselves away from any type of smoke to ensure the health of their baby. After all, mothers should take good care of their health and follow their doctor's prescription.