Pretty eye catching title, isn’t it? here’s another:
Tylenol in pregnancy is not the problem. This drug is.
Once again, it’s our old friend cannabis.
The article is an opinion piece by Dr. Leanna Wen, a public health expert who comments regularly on medical issues for The Washington Post.
Dr. Wen’s advice: if you really need something more to worry about when it comes to pregnancy, best to focus on marijuana. It’s the coming thing.
Most of us aren’t surprised to learn that cannabis use has increased dramatically among women over the past few decades. Mothers-to-be are no exception. For instance, the rate of women who use pot during their first trimester has nearly tripled. The rate among those using pot during the last trimester has essentially doubled.
That apparently doesn’t end once the child is born. Dr. Wen cites a study finding that perhaps one in 12 new mothers continues to use pot products during the period when they’re breast-feeding. That’s potentially 300,000 women in 2024 alone.
Perhaps more important in terms of future problems, don’t forget that cannabis use is highest among the 18 to 35 age group— prime childbearing age.
So why has this issue received so little attention in the media? Possibly because we’ve been devoting our valuable time and resources to questions such as, well, will Tylenol use cause autism?
Sigh.
Anyway, it’s interesting that the prestigious American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists now recommends against widespread testing to identify cannabis use in the mother. They suggest that physicians and practitioners be trained in ways to address the topic with the patient, person to person, so they can reassure the woman that it isn’t a plot to penalize her for drug use, or to take away her baby.
Sounds like good thinking, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Keep it up.
