Breast-Feeding Mothers Should Avoid

Breast-Feeding Mothers Should Avoid Marijuana, Pediatricians Say

Marijuana is more widely available than ever, but what does it does to babies?

There’s no answer thereto yet, but nursing mothers are being warned to avoid it: Traces of the drug can show up in breast milk, consistent with the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana that gets people high are often detected in breast milk up to 6 days after the utilization of the drug, consistent with a study published on Monday by the journal Pediatrics.

The study found that tetrahydrocannabinol was detectable in 63 percent of 54 samples of breast milk from women who said that they had used marijuana before pumping.

In response to evidence that babies are being exposed to marijuana, the A.A.P. recommends that ladies avoid the drug altogether once they are pregnant or breastfeeding.

Research into the potential effects of marijuana has become particularly relevant as more states have moved toward legalization and expectant mothers have haunted the drug in increasing numbers.

Recreational use is legal in eight states and Washington, and 30 states leave some sort of medical use.

recently took a step toward allowing recreational marijuana.

The move toward legalization has gained momentum in countries like Canada and Britain while attracting big dollars from investors looking to require advantage of the expansion in the industry. 

The parent company of Corona beer recently plunged $4 billion into a cannabis producer.

But the A.A.P. warned that in spite of loosening restrictions, it isn’t necessarily safe for the baby.

“The incontrovertible fact that marijuana is legal in many nations may give the impression the drug is harmless during pregnancy, especially with stories swirling on social media about using it for nausea with nausea,” said Sheryl A. Ryan, chairwoman of the A.A.P.

Committee on Substance Use and Prevention. “But actually, this is often still an enormous question.”

Preliminary research has suggested that THC can cross the placenta and reach the fetus, potentially harming brain development, cognition, and birth weight.

But studies on the effects of marijuana on pregnancy and lactation are relatively rare.

The A.A.P. study, which tested breast milk instead of the babies don't provide evidence of how or if children are affected.

It also noted that the quantity ingested by infants could vary significantly.

Work on the subject is all the more important now as pot has become stronger, said Christina D. Chambers, a professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego, and one among the authors of the study.

“We needed current-day use of currently available products to actually understand exposure levels and to seem at outcomes that are relevant to today,” she said in an email.

More research is required so doctors can provide evidence-based advice, Dr. Chambers added.

“This creates a dilemma for pediatricians who want their patients to be breast-fed and worry that some mothers if told to not use cannabis, might not breast-feed.”