Doctors fear pregnant women will mistakenly think that if cannabis becomes legal it is safe for them to use. (Ian Waldie/Getty Images)

Cannabis warning renewed for pregnant and nursing women

Canadian doctors have launched another campaign to warn women to not use cannabis while pregnant or breastfeeding. The government recently announced that the recreational use of cannabis will become legal on October 17, 2018, but doctors say that doesn’t mean it is safe for everyone.

Jocelynn Cook advises women who are pregnant or breastfeeding against using cannabis in any form. (Merrifield Photography)

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Legal doesn’t mean safe

“Legalization doesn’t really equate with safety during pregnancy,” says Jocelynn Cook, chief scientific officer with the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada. “We’re really concerned that women are going to think that cannabis use is absolutely safe to use during pregnancy and we know that the data don’t actually show that.”

Studies based on evidence suggest there may be potential short- and long-term growth and development issues associating with the consumption of cannabis during pregnancy and breastfeeding. They may include pre-term labour, low birth weight, lower IQ scores, impulsivity and hyperactivity in childhood. The society says it doesn’t matter how the drug is consumed.

The psychoactive component of Cannabis, THC, can accumulate in breast milk, warn doctors. (Reuters)

Women urged to not risk it

Cook says studies do not make clear how much cannabis may be safe to consume or how much may be harmful, so she concludes it is safest for pregnant and nursing women to avoid the drug entirely. She compared this with the lack of hard evidence for the effects of alcohol and the advice that pregnant and nursing women avoid it as well.

The first campaign of this kind was aimed at women between the ages 18 to 24 and launched in April 2018. This one targets women between the ages of 25 and 40. These may be women who have used cannabis in the past.

‘We don’t know’

Research suggests that 70 per cent of all women believe there is a slight or no risk of harm from using cannabis once or twice a week during pregnancy. But science shows the principal psychoactive component of Cannabis, THC, crosses the placenta into fetal tissue and can accumulate in breast milk.

“We don’t know how much is absolutely harmful. We don’t know how much is absolutely safe,” says Cook. “So it’s best to avoid it.”

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