Early Pregnancy Cannabis Exposure Tied to Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes

TUESDAY, Feb. 21, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Early pregnancy cannabis use is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, according to a study presented at The Pregnancy Meeting, the annual meeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, held from Feb. 6 to 11 in San Francisco.

Torri D. Metz, M.D., from University of Utah Health in Salt Lake City, and colleagues examined the relationship between early pregnancy use of exogenous cannabis and placentally mediated adverse pregnancy outcomes. The analysis included data from 9,257 women seen at eight U.S. medical centers with frozen stored urine samples from the initial study visit (six to 14 weeks of gestation) used for cannabis exposure testing.

The researchers found that 5.8 percent of women were exposed to cannabis. The primary composite outcome (small for gestational age, medically indicated preterm birth, stillbirth, or hypertensive disorders of pregnancy) occurred in 27.4 percent of the cannabis-exposed group and 18.1 percent of the unexposed group. Results were similar in the propensity weight analyses, as well as sensitivity analyses adjusting for demographics, tobacco and other drug use, medical comorbidities, and psychosocial stress.

"With recreational marijuana use becoming legal in more states, we need better data because patients are interested in understanding the risk of cannabis use in pregnancy so they can make an informed decision," Metz said in a statement.

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