Overview

• Clinicians are advised to ask all patients about cannabis use before, during and after pregnancy using supportive interviews.
• Research cited by the guidance notes that THC crosses the placenta, is present in breast milk, and fetal cannabinoid receptors appear as early as five weeks.
• Prenatal cannabis use is associated with low birth weight, neonatal intensive care admissions, perinatal death and possible attention and learning problems in children.
• Experts emphasize that evidence on safety remains limited, cautioning that the absence of clear links to birth defects does not establish safety in pregnancy.
• Providers are urged to understand local child-protection policies and to offer non-cannabis options for nausea, stress or anxiety, noting cannabis can sometimes worsen nausea.