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Marijuana use more than double in pregnant teens vs. nonpregnant teens

Pregnant teens are more than twice as likely to use marijuana compared with nonpregnant teens, suggesting an association between teen pregnancy and early substance use and highlighting the importance of intervention, according to findings published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

“Marijuana is the most common illicit drug used during pregnancy,” Nora D. Volkow, MD, from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and colleagues wrote. “Because of concerns about potential deleterious effects on neurodevelopment, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that pregnant women discontinue marijuana consumption. Despite these recommendations, use increased among pregnant and nonpregnant women between 2002 and 2014.”

Volkow and colleagues evaluated the prevalence of past-month marijuana use among females aged 12 to 44 years in relationship to pregnancy trimester and sociodemographic characteristics using nationally representative data from the 2002 to 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Respondents reported on whether they used marijuana or hashish in the past 30 days (past-month marijuana users) and if they were pregnant or not. Pregnant participants also reported on how many months pregnant they were.

Of the 410,000 respondents, a total of 14,400 participants reported being pregnant. Overall, data showed that past-month marijuana use was more common in nonpregnant respondents than pregnant (7.54% vs. 3.82%). Among pregnant women, there was a higher prevalence of past-month marijuana use in the first trimester (6.44%), when fetuses are more susceptible to damage from drugs, compared with the second (3.34%) and third trimesters (1.82%). Marijuana use was lower among participants aged 26 years and older compared with those aged 12 to 25 years in both the pregnant and nonpregnant cohorts. In the pregnant group, there was a higher prevalence of past-month marijuana use among non-Hispanic black respondents (6.45%) compared with other racial/ethnic groups.

All other sociodemographic categories indicated a higher prevalence of marijuana use among nonpregnant participants than pregnant participants, with the exception of girls aged 12 to 17 years: Pregnant and nonpregnant girls in this age group reported a prevalence of marijuana use of 14.02% and 6.45%, respectively.

Since marijuana use was self-reported, the researchers noted that its use may be underestimated.

Despite this limitation and others, these findings suggest that “enhanced prevention against marijuana use and efforts to promote general health should target women attempting to conceive or who are already pregnant, youth, and socioeconomically disadvantaged persons,” Volkow and colleagues concluded.

“Evidence for the effects of marijuana on human prenatal development is limited; however, research suggests that concern is warranted and that, even with the current uncertainty about marijuana's influence on human neurodevelopment, clinicians should exert caution by not recommending this drug for pregnant patients,” they added. “Pregnant females and those considering becoming pregnant should be advised not to use marijuana or other cannabinoids recreationally or to treat nausea.” – by Alaina Tedesco

Disclosure: The researchers report receiving sponsorship for this study from the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the NIH and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of HHS.