TITLE:
The Safety of Cannabis Use in Pregnancy
AUTHORS:
Simona Senovaityte, Alexander Nguyen, Solhee Han, Brenda La, Faithful Anane-Asane, Rouna Mohran, Sterling Lee, Anthony Monzon, Omar Samara, Derrick Murcia, Shrey Purohit
KEYWORDS:
Causality, Preterm Deliveries, Low-Birth Rates, Stanford-Binet Scale Test, Trimester, Inequities
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Vol.11 No.11,
November
9,
2021
ABSTRACT: Based on
self-reported surveys conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration, cannabis use in pregnant females has increased over
the years. Despite the increasing trend, the relationship between cannabis use
and fetal outcomes is not fully understood. This review paper evaluates the
literature investigating the short-term and long-term fetal outcomes resulting
from cannabis use during pregnancy. Additionally, the risk of chronic marijuana
use leading to cannabis hyperemesis syndrome has been highlighted in this paper
using conclusions compiled from several case studies. Several studies linked
delayed mental growth and reduced cognitive function with prenatal cannabis use,
but the literature was limited to lower-quality observational studies and could not establish
causality. One systematic review investigated short-term outcomes of low birth
rates and preterm deliveries, where marijuana use in conjunction with tobacco
use was associated with more preterm deliveries. Another study found that
six-year-old patients exposed to cannabis prenatally were more likely to score
lower in different categories on the Stanford-Binet scale test, which measures
intelligence. The exposure in the first, second, or third trimester was
associated with lower composite or subcategory scores such as verbal reasoning
or short-term memory. Despite these results, the studies evaluated had
limitations. They could not establish a clear relationship between cannabis use
and fetal outcomes, but the literature showed a similar pattern of health,
social and economic inequities among the populations who self-reported cannabis
and substance use and non-users. Current organization guidelines advise against
the use of cannabis use during pregnancy due to mixed and limited literature.
However, they emphasize the importance of the clinician in the public health
efforts of education and resource-distribution in addressing these inequities.