By Marieval Yebra
One of the biggest issues surrounding the medicinal marijuana movement is whether or not smoking marijuana during pregnancy is a bad thing. Does it have negative impacts on the health of the fetus or growing child? I know there have been numerous studies on whether or not toking up is harmful to the baby. One of the reasons I wanted to write this article is to not only inform you about the potential risks surrounding smoking herb while pregnant but to share my personal experience surrounding this topic.
Before I share my experience, I would like to get technical for a second. So we all know that the active chemical in marijuana is tetrahydrocannabinol or THC. We all know that this is what gives us the euphoric feeling and gets us stoned. Well not only does it get us stoned but it also brings us to one of the biggest factors when determining whether or not it’s safe to smoke when you’re carrying your little one. See THC stays in our systems for an extensive period of time (around 30 days, depending on how frequently you smoke and your weight). Exposure in utero becomes one of the biggest concerns when it comes down to whether or not smoking during pregnancy is safe. Research shows that prolonged exposure to marijuana during the development of the brain can cause irritability, emotional, and cognitive problems as well. There are also some findings that show that later on in life children can show lower scores when it comes to being tested in memory exercises, though it does not affect intelligence. Comprehension has also been found to be an issue alongside memory.
I am a mother to three beautiful children. All of my children are six years apart and couldn’t be more different. Now, I would like to say that I smoked weed with all my pregnancies the entire time. I didn’t. I decided to take the super healthy route with my oldest. When I mean super healthy, I don’t mean I went to yoga every day and took my prenatals religiously. Let’s face it, towards the end of my pregnancy I was so big I couldn’t even see the stairs in front of me as I went down them, so bending in compromising positions was not going to happen. Plus the prenatals were so big I could barely swallow them. I did quit smoking cigarettes, drinking coffee, or caffeine of any kind. I stopped eating chocolate and fried foods. I lived off salads, sandwiches, and water. Oh yeah, and I quit smoking herb, but I didn’t quit it all until I was almost four months pregnant. I had a fainting incident that scared the crap out of me and said screw it. Only to start smoking again towards the end of the pregnancy when my back was in unbearable pain, and I couldn’t sleep due to horrible insomnia. So my son only spent around two maybe three months not exposed to herb. I have read that there are extensive studies to show that smoking most of your pregnancy can lead to early labor and low birth weight. Well, my son was a week late and weighed 9lbs 3oz. Yeah, not such a low birth weight.
Not only was my son a week late and weighed 9 lbs but he has also been talking since he was ten months old and walking just as long. He is also one of the smartest kids I know. He has been tested, and his comprehension scores are for someone in 12th grade; he is going to start 8th grade this fall.
With my second pregnancy, I did smoke the entire pregnancy. I couldn’t eat anything without throwing up, and weed helped immensely. Sadly I didn’t want to smoke with my second pregnancy; I wanted this baby away from any smoke. I mean yeah marijuana isn’t proven to lead to cancer like cigarettes, but it’s still smoke and not the best for the baby’s lungs. Well, it didn’t matter that I didn’t want to smoke since that was the only thing that made me feel better. Yeah, they have medication that will help you with morning sickness, but I didn’t like the headaches you get as a side effect.
Let me tell you though that it was my last resort for the unbearable “morning sickness.” I tried it all. I tried ice, crackers, water, etc., and I threw it all up. I was losing too much weight so alas mary jane was there to save the day and the rest of the pregnancy.
Now this pregnancy was already a lot different. With my first, I had no morning sickness and my second was not morning sickness… it was all day sickness. Not only was I sick but around the 7th month when I stopped being sick at all, I ended up on bed rest. I started going into early labor, and my baby girl was at risk for the NICU, which is a commonly described risk associated with marijuana use. Luckily though, she waited until the right time to make her debut. She ended up being a week late.
She didn’t weigh as much as her brother, but she wasn’t small either at almost 8 lbs. She, unlike like her brother, didn’t talk and walk before she was one but still sharp as a tack.
My last pregnancy was a whole lot different than the other two and twice as rough. I smoked up until I was five months pregnant and decided to quit. I would like to say I decided to quit out of my own accord but that wasn’t the case. I decided to quit to keep any problems with Child Protective Services at bay. I had done a drug test during one of my lab visits. Now they test everyone for everything; drug test happens to be one of them.
Yeah, I knew I was going to come up dirty. I smoke weed. Yeah, I’m not going to have a clean drug test. I just didn’t what exactly they would do. With my other two, it had never been an issue. I tested dirty for both of my children before and never had any problems with CPS or anything. With this one, it would be a little different. I was told that I going to be tested at delivery and then my son would be tested and if it were positive they would call CPS. I decided I didn’t want any of that and just quit. In the event of me testing positive at delivery and CPS getting called I would have to participate in possible surprise home visits and future drug testing. So no they don’t take away the baby. (At least not in my experience or the experiences of my close friends that have to deal with this same issue.) At most you’ll just have to deal with a lot of B.S. So, just on that note, choose wisely.
One of the things that was a big issue, as with the time before, I had to be on bed rest due to premature labor. Just like the time before, the baby was a week late. At 10lbs 3oz he was a pretty healthy baby boy. With him just turning one recently, I haven’t noticed whether he’s going to be advanced like his brother or just be himself and take his time.
So pregnancy and cannabis, to toke or not to smoke? Well, that all depends on you and your perspective. Yes in some states it’s illegal but so was trans fat one upon a time. Yes, cannabis is classified as a Schedule I drug, which means it shows no qualities for a medicinal purpose and has a high potential to be abused, and so is Heroin. Yeah, marijuana is in the same drug category as Heroin according to Federal government it is. Surprise, surprise.
It’s a little scary to think that marijuana has the same classification as Heroin. That is, until you have a baby and they ask what kind of meds would you like for pain. Now they tell you not to smoke weed or drink beer because you will be breastfeeding, but they are willing to prescribe you Vicodin and Darvocet, which are opioids. Go figure, right. I just asked for plain old Ibuprofen. Already tired enough with three kids, I don’t want to go comatose. There are a couple of iffy qualities that come into play especially when toting around your “mini meds” but what doesn’t. When you’re pregnant everything has consequences. Everything. From the food you eat to the pets you have in your home. You’re told that everything and anything you eat or have around you can impact the health of your child. Pretty much anything that you do will have a positive or negative impact on you and your child.
Just a reminder that when it comes to issues regarding the health of you or your child, you should always consult a doctor and/or specialist. This article merely shares opinions and views.
