Studies Done On The Effect Of Marijuana Use During Pregnancy

Appropriate findings from relevant studies 

In the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Fried et al published their findings that 84 out of 583 women who used marijuana six or more times per week during their pregnancy showed a statistically significant reduction of 0.8 weeks in the length of gestation after considering the effects of factors such as alcohol, nicotine, the mother's parity, her pre-pregnancy weight and the sex of the infant. These findings gave merit to the data published by Hatch and Bracken in the American Journal of Epidemiology. Their prospective study on 3857 pregnancies showed that there was a relation between regular marijuana use and preterm deliveries.

In Psychosos & Vinod it was stated that there was increasing evidence that synthetic and traditional THC could be harmful to fetal development as early as 2 weeks after conception and that it could affect brain development even before signs of pregnancy were present. Animal studies on external THC exposure had been linked to an elevated risk of anencephaly as early as 1-4 weeks gestation. There were also impairments in the neural circuitry which affected the cognitive and emotional centres in the brain with exposure of THC at 18-22 weeks gestation. 

In Calvigioni et al it was stated that research was limited regarding the effects of marijuana on fetal development but it had been established that there were potential long term consequences from prenatal exposure, including behavioral and cognitive implications. This included lower verbal reasoning scores, hyperactivity, impaired mental development inattention, impairment in executive function and impulsivity. In one pf the studies that were reviewed it was found that exposure during the first trimester was linked to reading deficits, low spelling scores and lower child performance at 10 years pf age. It was also determined that marijuana use in the second trimester of pregnancy was associated with lower reading comprehension and overall underachievement among these children.  

Shortcomings in the studies

The mentioned studies were mostly based on questionnaires filled in by the mothers so the  data taken from these could be seen as being subjective in nature. Even though this may be the case, one can't ignore the fact that there were anatomical, cognitive and behavioural changes in children whose mothers used marijuana on a regular basis. 

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Conclusion

Even though these studies were based on questionnaires and meta-analysis, one can't ignore the recurrent and similar findings from different studies done over the past 30 years. It is therefore suggested that expectant mothers who do use marijuana try to stop using this drug as soon as they possibly can. The risks associated with the use of this drug really do outweigh any possible benefit that it could possibly have.