Pregnancy and Marijuana Abuse

Pregnancy and Marijuana Abuse

            Pregnancy is the most crucial time in the development of children, and it is also the time in which negative effects can be the most detrimental for the developing fetus.  However, marijuana is found to be the most commonly abused illicit drug among women who are conceiving children. Tzilos, Hess, and Zlotnick write that, “The use of marijuana during pregnancy is associated with neonatal morbidity (Tzilos, Hess, & Zlotnick, 2013).” One of the most dangerous concerns with this growing issue is that marijuana use and abuse affects the overall growth of the child and the length of the pregnancy, making the baby unable to develop fully before birth.  Another growing issue of research is the neurobehavioral behaviors among newborns because studies show that they lack the normal levels of response to outside triggers as babies raised in healthy environments.  

            This study implies that any illicit drug use throughout pregnancy is going to be detrimental to the growing child. However, it is important to remember that though the effects are not known for sure, they still have strong connections towards pregnancy length and the development of the child. It is known that marijuana is not safe for adults, so this implies that it would be even more dangerous for a growing child. Another implication is that because it is the most commonly abused illicit substance, it would make the most sense for it to be the most abused substance with pregnant mothers. 

            The most common limitation is the lack of evidence and information towards this topic of study. Most mothers, when asked, are not going to admit to the use of illicit drugs during pregnancy, so it is difficult to get enough information to either solidify or contradict this theory. Another limitation is the difficulty in giving longitudinal studies to the children whose parents did abuse marijuana throughout their development. This makes it difficult to discover the long standing effects that may not show up just through the birth process.  

ABSTRACT 

Tzilos, G., Hess, L., Kao, J., & Zlotnick, C. (2013). Characteristics of perinatal women seeking treatment for marijuana abuse in a community-based clinic. Archives Of Women's Mental Health, 16(4), 333-337. doi:10.1007/s00737-013-0358-7