Hashish use by pregnant girls elevated throughout pandemic

A Kaiser Permanente evaluation of greater than 100,000 pregnancies in Northern California finds a 25% improve within the charge of hashish use early in being pregnant after the pandemic started in spring 2020.

The evaluation was reported in a analysis letter within the September 27 problem of JAMA. The examine discovered that within the 12 months earlier than the pandemic, 6.75% of pregnant girls had been utilizing hashish in early being pregnant, and in the course of the pandemic that charge rose to eight.14% of pregnant girls.

The examine didn’t decide why extra pregnant girls is perhaps utilizing hashish. “Our earlier analysis has proven that the prevalence and frequency of prenatal hashish use is rising over time and that pregnant girls are extra possible to make use of hashish if they’re depressed, anxious, or have skilled trauma. It’s extremely attainable that extra pregnant girls are utilizing hashish in an try to self-medicate these points in the course of the pandemic,” mentioned lead writer Kelly Younger-Wolff, Ph.D., MPH, a scientific psychologist and analysis scientist with the Kaiser Permanente Division of Analysis.

“The stay-at-home mandates, considerations about getting COVID-19, financial challenges, elevated little one care burden, and different troublesome features of the pandemic may contribute to pregnant girls feeling extra pressured and depressed throughout this time,” Younger-Wolff added.

The examine examined urine toxicology exams for hashish from the primary prenatal go to for 100,005 pregnancies (involving 95,412 girls) at Kaiser Permanente in Northern California from January 2019 via December 2020, evaluating constructive exams within the 15-month pre-pandemic interval with these in the course of the pandemic interval.

The pattern is regarding due to potential dangers to newborns equivalent to low toddler delivery weight and potential neurodevelopmental results on youngsters related to prenatal hashish use, mentioned senior writer Lyndsay Avalos, Ph.D., MPH, a analysis scientist on the Division of Analysis. “Because the pandemic continues it is going to be necessary to establish subgroups of ladies who’re most certainly to make use of hashish throughout being pregnant so we will present extra focused interventions.”

It is usually necessary for clinicians to debate hashish use with their sufferers. “We have to get the phrase out extra successfully that hashish is just not a wholesome selection throughout being pregnant,” mentioned co-author Deborah Ansley, MD, regional medical director for Kaiser Permanente’s Early Begin prenatal well being program. “Ladies could also be attempting to handle nausea or temper issues early in being pregnant or might merely be persevering with a behavior from earlier than they turned pregnant. Clinicians—and individuals who work in hashish dispensaries—want to assist educate girls that in being pregnant they need to abstain from any kind of hashish use due to potential well being dangers to their infants.”

The analysis didn’t differentiate amongst sorts of hashish merchandise used or concentrations of CBD or THC utilized by girls. Younger-Wolff and Avalos have funding from the Nationwide Institute on Drug Abuse to hold out extra in-depth, long-term analysis on use of assorted sorts of hashish merchandise in being pregnant and their affect on the well being of moms and kids.

In a current editorial in JAMA Community Open, Younger-Wolff and a pair of colleagues additionally highlighted the necessity for equitable entry to supportive and nonpunitive substance use remedy and advisable authorized and regulatory insurance policies to guard infants and kids whereas not imposing prison or discriminatory burdens on weak communities.