Cannabis | Health | Science
The Impact of Maternal Marijuana Use on Fetuses and Newborns
New research studies show that THC and CBD accumulate in breast milk and fetal THC-exposure produces abnormal newborn brain activity.
Earlier this week, New Jersey became the latest state to legalize marijuana for recreational use. New Jersey voters had approved the legalization of marijuana in the 2020 election, and a new law had actually gone into effect on January 1. However, the law imposed strict rules regarding who would still face penalties for marijuana usage and who could use the drug. So on February 22, Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation to legalize adult use of cannabis and decriminalize marijuana possession in small amounts.
As the trend toward legalization continues, researchers continue to explore the health impacts of marijuana use. Two new studies shed light on an aspect of marijuana use that has received relatively little attention: fetal and infant exposure to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive component of marijuana.
Cannabinoids Accumulate in the Breast Milk of Nursing Mothers
In a research paper published January 19th in the journal Pediatric Research, investigators from the University of Utah and Oregon Health & Science University assessed cannabis use patterns in breastfeeding mothers and quantified cannabinoids in subjects’ plasma and breast milk.
The researchers noted that their study was motivated by the fact that cannabis use has been increasing in the general population and that many nursing mothers use cannabis. In addition, although THC had previously been detected in breast milk, little was known about how it and other cannabinoids concentrate in breast milk relative to plasma.
The study was conducted at a university hospital in a state with legal medical and recreational cannabis. Survey data along with breast milk and plasma samples were collected at 2 weeks and 2 months postpartum from volunteers who had used cannabis in the previous 48 hours.
The results showed that breastfeeding mothers used cannabis frequently and increased use in the weeks after childbirth. At 2 weeks postpartum, volunteers reported having used cannabis between 6 and 29 times in the previous 7 days. At 2 months postpartum, volunteers’ cannabis use in the previous 7 days ranged from 15 to 45 times.
The researchers also detected THC and the non-psychoactive cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) in volunteers’ breast milk. Both cannabinoids were found to be more highly concentrated in volunteers’ breast milk relative to plasma, and these concentrations were found to accumulate over time. The concentration of THC in breast milk increased from 2 weeks to 2 months postpartum.
Given the amount of exposure to cannabinoids received by infants breastfeeding from mothers using cannabis, the researchers indicate that further research on the effects of infant exposure to cannabinoids via breast milk is urgently needed.
Fetal THC Exposure Produces Abnormal Brain Activity in Newborns
A team of researchers at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center published a research paper January 18th in the Journal of Perinatology reporting that exposure to THC results in abnormal fetal brain activity.
The paper described a study of prenatally THC-exposed newborns in which a limited channel continuous amplitude integrated electroencephalogram (aEEG) was obtained within 48 hours of birth.
The researchers discovered that 60% of the neonates had disturbances in their sleep wake cycle. This finding is particularly concerning since, during early development, sleep is one of the primary activities of the brain. Sleep also plays an important role in healthy psychosocial and cognitive development in early life.
Further research will focus on obtaining more detailed histories of maternal THC use in order to better evaluate the association between these THC exposure and abnormal aEEG results. The researchers also plan to look at neurodevelopmental outcomes of neonates following fetal THC exposure.
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