The findings were published in JAMA on Sept 27 in a study article. According to the research, 6.75 percent of expectant mothers used marijuana in the years preceding the epidemic, and 8.14 percent of expectant mothers used cannabis throughout the epidemic.
After the epidemic started in springtime 2020, a Kaiser Permanente assessment of many over 100,000 births in Northern California found a 25 percent rise in the incidence of marijuana usage early in gestation.
Pregnant Women’s Use Of Cannabis Rose During Pandemic
Many women who were pregnant and suffered from loneliness during the pandemic took the support of marijuana consumption. Marijuana has doubtlessly a number of side effects to the expecting mother and the baby to be born, but in most cases, such users have avoided caring for such worries. As per sources, the number of such users is very high, and in the near future, more cases with such side effects are expected.
The researchers couldn’t figure out why many women who are pregnant are smoking cannabis. “Our previous research has shown that the prevalence and frequency of prenatal cannabis use are increasing over time and that pregnant women are more likely to use cannabis if they are depressed, anxious, or have experienced trauma.
More pregnant women may be using cannabis in an attempt to self-medicate these issues during the pandemic,” Kelly Young-Wolff, Ph.D., MPH, a clinical psychologist and research scientist with the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research, said the study’s primary author.
“The stay-at-home mandates, concerns about getting COVID-19, economic challenges, increased child care burden, and other difficult aspects of the pandemic could contribute to pregnant women feeling more stressed and depressed during this time” Young-Wolff added.
From January 2019 to Dec. 2020, researchers compared favorable cannabis urinary toxicology reports from the first antenatal visit for 100,005 pregnant women at Kaiser Permanente through Northern California, trying to compare favorable exams in the 15-month pre-pandemic time frame with those throughout the global epidemic time frame.
It also is critical for professionals to talk to their individuals about cannabis usage. “We need to get the word out more effectively that cannabis is not a healthy choice during pregnancy,” said co-author Deborah Ansley, MD, regional medical director for Kaiser Permanente’s Early Start prenatal health program. “Women may be trying to manage nausea or mood problems early in pregnancy or may simply be continuing a habit from before they became pregnant.
Clinicians and people who work in cannabis dispensaries need to help educate women that during pregnancy, they should abstain from any type of cannabis use because of potential health risks to their babies.”
According to lead writer Lyndsay Avalos, Ph.D., MPH, a study scientist at the Division of Studies, the increase is troubling since possible dangers to babies, including infant low birth weight and possible neurodevelopmental impacts on kids linked with pregnant cannabis usage. “As the pandemic continues, it will be important to identify subgroups of women who are most likely to use cannabis during pregnancy so we can provide more targeted interventions.”
The study made no distinction between the kinds of cannabis items consumed or the CBD or THC levels utilized by females. The National Council on Drug Abuse has provided money to Young-Wolff and Avalos to conduct further in-depth, lengthy studies on the usage of different kinds of marijuana items in pregnant and their effect on the well-being of mother and child.
Adolescents and two coworkers also emphasized the requirement for equal and fair connectivity to caring and nonpunitive material utilize care in the latest article through JAMA Network Open and suggested lawful and regulative initiatives to safeguard babies and children without blame lawbreaker or discrimination hardships on disadvantaged communities.
