Using cannabis while pregnant can affect placenta, stress, anxiety, development in children: study

Cannabis use during pregnancy has become increasingly common over the past two decades, but a study published Monday suggests that those children showed higher levels of cortisol, anxiety, aggression, and hyperactivity.

The peer-reviewed study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS), found significant correlation between cannabis use during pregnancy and many aspects of early childhood development, the authors wrote.

“Pregnant women are being bombarded with misinformation that cannabis is of no risk, while the reality is that cannabis is more potent today than it was even a few years ago. Our findings indicate that using it during pregnancy can have long-term impact on children,” said Yasmin Hurd, Director of the Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai, and senior author of the paper, in a statement.

Led by researchers with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and City University of New York, 322 individuals who reported using cannabis during their pregnancy and/or while breastfeeding were tracked and the placenta collected after birth. They followed up with their children when they were around three- to six-years-old.

Researchers measured hair hormone levels, heart rate variability (HRV) at rest and during auditory startle -- a test of an unconditional reflex caused by an unexpected loud sound -- of the children and looked at their neurobehavioral traits as measured on the Behavioral Assessment System for Children survey.