Pot Use in Pregnancy May Harm the Fetus

TUESDAY, Nov. 16, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Marijuana usage successful gestation whitethorn summation your child's hazard for stress and anxiety, a caller survey suggests.

Although immoderate moms-to-be usage cookware hoping to relieve morning sickness and anxiety, they should cognize it whitethorn origin familial changes successful the uterus that effect successful children becoming anxious, assertive and hyperactive, researchers say.

"People are saying that cannabis is benign, and instrumentality it for your anxiousness and your nausea, but you request to cognize that it whitethorn person semipermanent effects connected your child," said elder researcher Yasmin Hurd.

"We recovered that the children, starting astatine property 3, had changes successful their hormone levels, elevated anxiety, aggression and hyperactivity, and adjacent physiological measures of a accent effect successful the heart," said Hurd. She's seat of translational neuroscience and manager of the Addiction Institute astatine Mount Sinai successful New York City.

Hurd said the survey can't beryllium that vulnerability to marijuana successful the womb caused these symptoms, however.

"We can't accidental that thing successful humans is causal due to the fact that of the complexity and galore confounds," she noted. In carnal experiments, however, Hurd said they recovered that the progressive constituent successful marijuana -- THC -- caused changes successful the immune system of large animals.

She believes, however, that women should beryllium counseled to debar marijuana during gestation arsenic they are present warned to debar alcohol, due to the fact that of the harm it tin cause.

For this study, Hurd and her colleagues followed much than 300 mothers and looked astatine the childhood behavior of their offspring. When the children were astir 6 years old, the researchers measured hormone levels and bosom relation during stress. They besides evaluated the children's behavioral and affectional functioning based connected surveys of parents.

The investigators recovered that children of mothers who utilized cookware during gestation were much anxious, assertive and hyperactive and had higher levels of the accent hormone cortisol than kids whose mothers didn't usage the drug.

Children of mothers who utilized marijuana during gestation besides had changes successful their bosom bushed tied to accrued sensitivity to stress.

Continued

Additionally, investigation of placental insubstantial of immoderate of the marijuana users revealed changes to genes linked to immunity. This mightiness pb to inflammation and little absorption to germs, the researchers said. And the marijuana-related changes successful these immune networks predicted higher levels of anxiousness successful the children, the survey found.

Hurd said that they don't cognize if the children volition outgrow these issues. If they continue, the behavioral problems tin impact acquisition and societal development, she said.

"We request to cognize what happens to these children aboriginal successful life," she said. "They whitethorn beryllium wholly fine, oregon they whitethorn request interventions to assistance them to flooded immoderate of the behavioral problems they person -- that's truly critical," Hurd said.

At the moment, however, the researchers don't person the funds to proceed the research.

These findings are not unique. A survey published successful the diary JAMA Psychiatry successful September 2020 recovered that children exposed to cookware successful the womb were much apt to acquisition internalizing disorders, specified arsenic slump and anxiety, arsenic good arsenic externalizing disorders, specified arsenic lashing retired astatine others oregon ADHD.

Also, an April 2021 survey successful the journal Addiction recovered that mothers who utilized cookware during gestation were much apt to person premature, underweight babies.

Dr. Scott Krakower is an attending psychiatrist who specializes successful treating substance maltreatment astatine Zucker Hillside Hospital successful Glen Oaks, N.Y.

This survey suggests utilizing marijuana during gestation tin person consequences successful neurodevelopment passim infancy and successful aboriginal years of childhood, said Krakower, who was not progressive with the study.

"Future mothers should beryllium cautioned connected the usage of cannabis during pregnancy, and further outreach should beryllium considered to people at-risk populations," helium said. "Given that cannabis is becoming progressively commercialized, it is important to pass the nationalist astir imaginable harms of this cause during the perinatal period."

The caller study was published Nov. 15 successful the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

More information

For much connected cannabis and pregnancy, spot the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

SOURCES: Yasmin Hurd, PhD, chair, translational neuroscience, director, Addiction Institute astatine Mount Sinai, New York City; Scott Krakower, DO, attending psychiatrist, kid and teen psychiatry, Zucker Hillside Hospital, Glen Oaks, N.Y.; Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, Nov. 15, 2021