Prenatal Cannabis Use Tied to Adverse Maternal Health Outcomes

THURSDAY, July 25, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Prenatal cannabis use is associated with several adverse maternal health outcomes during pregnancy, according to a study published July 22 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Kelly C. Young-Wolff, Ph.D., from Kaiser Permanente Northern California in Oakland, and colleagues evaluated whether prenatal cannabis use (self-reported use during early pregnancy or a positive toxicology test result based on universal screening) is associated with maternal health outcomes during pregnancy. Analysis included 316,722 pregnancies (January 2011 to December 2019) among 250,221 unique individuals.

The researchers found that 6.3 percent of individuals screened positive for prenatal cannabis use (2.9 percent by self-report, 5.3 percent by toxicology testing, and 1.8 percent by both). Cannabis use frequency was daily for 0.6 percent, weekly for 0.7 percent, monthly or less for 1.5 percent, and unknown for 3.4 percent. Greater risk of gestational hypertension (adjusted risk ratio [aRR], 1.17), preeclampsia (aRR, 1.08), weight gain less than guidelines (aRR, 1.05), weight gain greater than guidelines (aRR, 1.09), and placental abruption (aRR, 1.19) were associated with prenatal cannabis use. Similar results were seen for use determined by self-report only or toxicology testing only.

“Continued research is needed to understand whether characteristics of prenatal cannabis use (e.g., dose, mode, and timing) moderate these associations,” the authors write.

Abstract/Full Text

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