Marijuana is a drug that is usually used for medicinal and recreational purposes. However the latter weighs out the former’s purpose. Marijuana is used very frequently by people nowadays. It releases pressure and makes you feel good for a period of time. With the millennial generation romanticizing sadness and depression and listening to music where the singers are openly using it, marijuana has become more popular than ever.
Pregnancy is a very delicate time for the mother. What a mother eats, puts on her body and smokes affects the child. Marijuana is that one substance that can have a terrible impact on a little baby’s health, even before he is born
What exactly is Marijuana?
Marijuana (also known as weed, pot, bud) comes from the Cannabis sativa plant. It is it’s dried portion and usually crushed before smoking or eating it. The effects it has on the body are many. It can cause relaxation, euphoria and very enhanced sensory organs facilitation. In almost all states recreational marijuana is illegal. However, Canada has recently legalized its use.
Marijuana has an active compound known as THC. (Delta 9 tetrahydrocannabinol). This substance is extremely dangerous and can cross the placenta of a mother to get to the baby during the pregnancy.This makes the use of marijuana pregnancy and breastfeeding, extremely risky.
Smoking or eating marijuana during pregnancy is a very dicey subject because its effects during pregnancy are very difficult to determine. This is because many women who consume marijuana during pregnancy, also use substances like tobacco, alcohol and other drugs. This makes it difficult to understand, what exactly is causing the problem.
How high is the use of marijuana during pregnancy?
There have been many studies done on this, but the results vary. However, something that has been established is the fact that Marijuana is the most used illicit drug when a woman is pregnant. According to a group, 2 to 4.5 percent of women use weed during their pregnancy. Empowerment comes with a cost. Young and urban women, along with socioeconomically disabled women have reported high rates of marijuana consumption. Upto 28 percent.
Potential hazards on a baby after birth
- When a foetus is exposed to THC, it can severely impact it’s brain development. It can kill off brain cells before they even develop.
- There is an ongoing research that says that women who smoke marijuana can give birth to long problems in their babies. School performance of the child can be severely affected and he will possibly have trouble with concepts such as attention, memory, impulse control and school performance
Strong misconceptions
There is growing popularity around vape pens. A lot of people hold this misconception that vaping is better than smoking marijuana and is also harmless because you don’t inhale anything except water vapour, which replaces smoke.
However, this is a big myth. Both vaping and marijuana use during pregnancy and breastfeeding harm the baby in the worst possible way. There is no evidence to say that it’s safe. Therefore it isn’t even worthy of the risk.