Is it safe to use Cannabis during Pregnancy and Breastfeeding?

 

No western doctor today will stand up and advocate the use of Cannabis during pregnancy by ensuring that the mother maintains a fully functional Endocannabinoid System (ECS). I am sure that it is because of State and Federal laws that doctors are prevented from giving us the biological reassurance that the world is still looking for today. I have seen doctors in my own country who campaign for Cannabis Medicine yet their product leaflets clearly state that this medicine must not be used during pregnancy and lactation.

The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) recommend that pregnant mothers should avoid Cannabis during pregnancy. They reference research that suggests that babies are born with lower birth weight and brain development problems to make their point. None of this is true and you should be aware that none of these studies have actually found any link between Cannabis and adverse outcomes.

And none of these studies have followed the babies over several years to study potential long-term developmental problems caused by the plant.

As a licensed Traditional Doctor having worked with Cannabis Medicine for over 40 years, it is very easy for me to be confident in telling you that in the majority of the population it is 100% safe to consume Cannabis during pregnancy and breastfeeding for the greater benefit of your baby and yourself. I have also very often used Cannabis to help people to fall pregnant and this is why I have so many ‘god children’ today!

The purpose of this paper is to give you the scientific evidence of the importance of a fully functioning ECS during the prime of life when you are creating and nurturing new life.

There are still places in the world today where pregnant and breastfeeding women are being arrested for consuming the herb

So we do give thanks for the 31 March 2022 Arizona Ruling that states that it is no longer a crime to consume Cannabis while pregnant as it no longer constitutes child neglect or abuse associated with seeking herbal relief for morning sickness.

This case should set the worldwide precedent to ensure that Cannabis use during pregnancy is no longer treated as a “legal form of child neglect”.

In Arizona, their Medical Marijuana Act states that “Cannabis use must be considered the equivalent of the use of any other medication under the direction of a physician.”

In countries like South Africa where we fought for privacy rights to consume Cannabis, the basis of the Arizona ruling should be included in our Cannabis for Personal use Bill.

It should not be a crime to use Cannabis for morning sickness or any other condition during pregnancy and breastfeeding. And these laws should also state that Cannabis Medicine should be equal to any other medicine prescribed by a licensed and practicing doctor.

Is it safe to consume Cannabis while pregnant?

To this day there is no research proving that displacing endocannabinoids is problematic to the fetus.

 

Elana Frankel is the author of the book “Women and Weed” published by Simon and Schuster in the 2020. She is also the Chief Growth Officer at Medical Cannabis Mentor where she teaches about Cannabis Medicine.

 

She informs us of a study that implies that additional cannabinoids appear to protect neural functioning that is damaged in some children with abnormal brain development, for example autism and fetal alcohol syndrome. 

 

The author also cites the studies of Professor Ester Fride emphasizing the fact that cannabinoids are essential to a baby’s ability to thrive.

 

In the 1990’s another doctor Dr Melanie Dreher who was the Dean of Nursing at Rush Medical Center in Chicago, travelled to Jamaica to study a group of Rastafari women and their babies.

 

Dr Dreher followed 30 women and their babies for 5 years until the children went to school. Her findings confirmed that children of mother’s who consumed Cannabis during pregnancy socialized more quickly, were able to maintain eye contact and were much more comfortable to engage than babies of non-smokers.

 

Dr Dreher found no developmental differences and in fact, her tests for verbal ability, motor, perceptual and quantitative skills, memory and mood, proved that children who received cannabinoids scored higher. This proves that there are no demonstrable detrimental effects of Cannabis consumption to the fetus during pregnancy. It is also important to note that there were no differences in the baby’s Apgar test scores just after birth.

 

Do babies of “Cannabis mom’s” have more health problems?

 

In America, new Cannabis laws are still not associated with any changes in newborn health. These statistics are not available in South Africa.

 

According to the Journal of Health Economics published 25 September 2021, the study implied “modest or no adverse effects of peri-natal outcomes. 

The truth is that there is ECS activity in the womb where scientists have identified our natural endocannabinoid Anandamide as well as ECS receptors in the uterine wall.

It is now well established that Anandamide is not only responsible for the production of human sperm, but is also responsible for the implantation process that happens on the 6^th day after conception.

ECS receptors are present in the pre-implanted embryo and this means that ECS activity starts at the moment of conception

In Chapter 5 of my book The Human Companion Plant I explain the question of why the female body does not expel the fetus that is 50% foreign. Through Cannabis research we now know that Anandamide is responsible for preventing miscarriage that occurs in women who have underdeveloped EC systems.

Anandamide also biologically controls the genes that are required for the onset of labor contractions and the placenta is also abundant in Endocannabinoids and ECS receptors.

It is also a scientific fact that endocannabinoids can be altered when the pregnant mom is under stress, regardless of whether she consumes Cannabis or not. The reason for this is that all life-stresses do block the ECS receptors leading to Endocannabinoid Deficiency that is also an official medical diagnosis now.

What about the risks in the developing brain?

In my book I explain the science that I learnt from Professor Fride, that proves that ECS receptors are present in the white matter regions of the pre and post natal brain. The white matter regions of the human brain are the very deep tissues of the brain and this proves that there is a specific role for the ECS in early human brain development.

So if you are nauseous or in pain or are tired and irritable or feeling ‘hormonal’, I would advise you to consider Cannabis long before any over the counter treatments that can cause far more harm than the plant ever could.

Is it safe to smoke Cannabis while breast feeding?

Scientists report that the highest concentration of endocannabinoids is in human breast milk that contains 12 different endocannabinoids.

Endocannabinoids are present in human breast milk regardless of whether the mother consumes Cannabis or not

The majority of the content is made up of 2-AG that is the human version of CBD.

The reason why there are endocannabinoids in human breast milk is because they play a crucial role in establishing the suckling response in newborn babies.

“Growth Failure” due to the inability to suckle is now scientifically attributed to an under developed Endocannabinoid System.

Professor Ester Fride’s research proves that the ECS is crucial to the suckling response and therefore to the survival of new born babies.

The official diagnosis “Infant Failure to Thrive” is known to be caused by blocked ECS receptors because of the failure to stimulate the suckling response.

Twelve natural endocannabinoids made by the female human body have been detected in human milk. The most abundant endocannabinoid in human milk is 2-AG also known as the human version of CBD.

Professor Fride was the pioneer in neonatal Cannabis studies and modern scientists continue to cite her research that still proves that endocannabinoids play a role in establishing the suckling response of the newborn by activating the oral-motor musculature needed for milk suckling.

Can an unborn baby get high?

Human babies do not experience the psychedelic effects of Cannabis in the womb in the same way as unborn babies can become drunk in the womb from alcohol as we know from our studies of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Children born with this condition are sadly already predisposed to alcoholism.

The reason why unborn babies, newborn babies and small children up to the age of around 12 years, do not easily experience any kind of ‘high’ from Cannabis is because of what Professor Fride referred to as Delayed Receptor Expression.

Because of Professor Fride’s work we now know that ECS receptor expression is different in children because the ECS develops very slowly in the pre and post natal stages.

Her research also proved that this gradual increase in receptor expression is also accompanied by a gradual maturing in the response to THC.

You can clearly see that this is a biologically adaptive defense mechanism delicately designed by the Creator to protect unborn babies and small children and this is why it appears that THC has almost no effect on small children.

I really feel that as a society we need to break this ongoing stigma that Cannabis causes any harm to unborn babies. Today Cannabis is implicated in 678 medical conditions including pediatric conditions like child epilepsy.

Based on the mountains of scientific evidence that we have available today we now know that the ECS plays a critical role in the health of the developing human baby.

Endocannabinoids play an important role in appetite stimulation, the suckling response, the baby’s immunity as well as early brain development.

It is when the mother has an under developed ECS that problems start occurring in the womb and after delivery.

The fact that human babies produce their own endocannabinoids and that these same molecules are present in the human breast milk, even if the mother does not use Cannabis, says a lot about the safety of Cannabis Medicine during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

If anyone would like to speak to me privately please send me your email to vee.bush@gmail.com