Serious Maternal Complications Linked with Use of Marijuana Before and Early in Pregnancy, Study Says

(CNN) More and more people are using marijuana before or during pregnancy to ease nausea, pain, stress and help with sleep. In fact, research found that use has more than doubled in the last two decades.

Marijuana use in pregnancy has been linked to such adverse outcomes for the baby as lower birthweight, preterm birth and higher admission rates to neonatal intensive care units.

What about the potential danger to the mother if she uses cannabis before or during early pregnancy? According to a new study, the news there is alarming as well. There’s an increased risk of serious, potentially life-threatening maternal complications such as gestational hypertension and preeclampsia, which are both disorders of high blood pressure.

“Pregnant individuals who used versus did not use cannabis during early pregnancy had a 17% greater risk of gestational hypertension (and) an 8% greater risk of preeclampsia,” said lead study author Kelly Young-Wolff, a research scientist at Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Pleasanton, California.

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