Cannabis not a healthy prenatal choice, Permanente ob-gyn tells U.S. News

Deborah Ansley, MD, an ob-gyn with The Permanente Medical Group, told U.S. News & World Report that using marijuana “is not a healthy choice during pregnancy.”

Marijuana use during pregnancy may have increased by as much as 25% during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new research findings from investigators with the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research published September 27 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The findings don’t prove a direct cause-and-effect relationship between the pandemic and greater prenatal marijuana use, noted Dr. Ansley, a study co-author.

“Women may be trying to manage nausea or mood problems early in pregnancy or may simply be continuing a habit from before they became pregnant. Clinicians — and people who work in cannabis dispensaries — need to help educate women that during pregnancy they should abstain from any type of cannabis use because of potential health risks to their babies,” added Dr. Ansley, who is regional medical director for Kaiser Permanente’s Early Start prenatal health program.

Note: Read the whole story on the U.S. News & World Report website.