A new study by Nationwide Children’s Hospital found that the use of cannabis during pregnancy can affect thinking and learning skills before a child is born. The study also showed aggression can increase in children who are exposed to cannabis before birth.
Dr. Sarah Keim, principal investigator in the Center for Biobehavioral Health at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and lead author of the study, said researchers found that prenatal cannabis exposure led to children having poorer thinking skills and behaviors.
"Impulse control, ability to sit still and pay attention, planning, ability, also more aggressive behavior,” said Dr. Keim. “All of these play a vital role in how children perform in school and interact with others. So it was very concerning to see these apparent deficits as early as age five before the children had even started kindergarten."
The study included pregnant patients between the ages of 16 and 50 who were able to communicate in English and intended to give birth at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Researchers examined 250 children who were at least 5 years old and from different racial and ethnic backgrounds. Most of the children were living in poverty in central Ohio. Thirty-two percent, or 80 of the 250 children, were exposed to cannabis in the womb.
“We interviewed their caregivers to understand what their usual routines and skills, abilities and behaviors were like,” said Dr. Keim. “We used a variety of computerized tests and other tasks to really evaluate a whole spectrum of their abilities and skills. And we did find there were some very specific areas that seem to be associated with cannabis use exposure prenatally.”
Dr. Keim said while cannabis is a natural product, there are many risks when the substance is used during pregnancy.
"We've been seeing an uptick in how common it is that pregnant women use marijuana,” said Dr. Keim. “In fact, it's at least one in 14 pregnant women in the United States (who) admits (to) using marijuana, at least sometimes during pregnancy. And so that has been on the uptick for a while."
Dr. Keim explained that some women rely on cannabis to relieve pregnancy issues.
“We believe most of them were smoking,” said Dr. Keim. “And we did interview quite a few of the women to understand why they may have used cannabis during pregnancy. And some common reasons we heard were to deal with common issues of pregnancy like nausea, difficulty sleeping, stress, mental health issues, that kind of thing, while others were using it purely for recreational purposes.
Both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists caution against cannabis use during pregnancy due to the potential for health risks.
“It's really important that women who are pregnant now or who might become pregnant if they start experiencing those symptoms, to talk to their health care provider about what those alternatives might be,” said Dr. Keim. “There's quite a few options, including medications, maybe working with a therapist, other techniques to deal with stress that are a lot safer and better choices than cannabis.”
Dr. Keim added the findings were not surprising and confirmed “longstanding evidence from previous research.”
Ohio voters approved recreational marijuana last November.
"There is concern that with softening attitudes about marijuana and looser legal restrictions, that this product might become even more popular during pregnancy,” said Dr. Keim. “You know, even though marijuana does come from a plant, that doesn't mean it's safe to use during pregnancy."
