The Momlogic Newsletter landed in my inbox this week with a story about the increasing trend of doctors prescribing medical cannabis to treat morning sickness in pregnant women. The article goes on to cite quotes from many women who admitted and even raved about the treatment.
Some further research into this topic revealed several opposing views. DrugPolicy.com states that marijuana use during pregnancy can lead to birth defects and cognitive deficits.
Many pro-cannabis sources quote the often cited research of Dr. Melanie Dreher concluding that no known difference could be found between exposed and non-exposed infants.
Blogger, Jessica Katz wrote about her severe, 24 hour a day, morning sickness and her doctor's suggestion to try medical marijuana. Jessica opted not to try it...what would you do?
It's Feedback Friday!
Would you consider using medical marijuana to treat severe morning sickness while pregnant?
.
Yeah, ummmm..No! Morning sickness sucks. I threw up all day every day until I delivered...and I still did it 3 times! I tried everything from eating a cracker before I got up to sniffing an alcohol prep pad (girl at work told me this genius idea,didn't work At All) to taking ginger pills (which kind of work, but if you throw them up it's like burning hot pepper flakes in your mouth!). I found out that it was easier to eat stuff that didn't taste awful both times around. Lots of cereal...no tacos or shredded wheat.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, worst case you do it for 9 months, best case it only lasts a few weeks....either way, not worth even the slightest chance of harming a baby.
Absolutely not. There is too much conflicting evidence about it's safety, so it just appears too risky for me.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was pregnant, I went to acupuncture once a week as treatment for morning sickness. I think it made a difference. Acupuncture was only covered by my ins company for chemo sickness and morning sickness!
I believe that medical marijuana is a valid treatment. I had had family deaing with cancer that marinol pills helped a great deal. So I am in support of the treatment when medically necessary, but I can't imagine trying it myself when pregnant.
I was sick the entire way through my pregnancy. Not just sick, but SICK. Smells made me so sick, I had to MOVE at the 4 month mark when my downstairs neighbors painted their apartment. So sick, that brushing my teeth made me sick, so I ended up brushing my teeth 4 times in the morning just to make it out the door. It lasted all day and night and lasted almost the entire pregnancy. I was MISERABLE...and no looking back at HOW sick I was, I would NEVER consider nor would I have considered smoking pot to make me feel better. Suck it up and muscle through. We get one chance to grow a healthy child...what kind of mother would deliberately POISON him/her, to make herself feel better????
ReplyDeleteI'm not a mom but I wouldn't consider that as a treatment if I were to get pregnant there are just too much conflicting information. It's a temporary solution to a temporary problem that can have permanent repercussions. I rather not chance it =o
ReplyDeleteHeck no!
ReplyDeleteNot a mom, but for me the answer is the same as with any drug-- I don't judge those who decide differently, but I wouldn't try it until at least 30 years of thorough testing has been done, preferably more than that. Without that much study and evidence, I couldn't feel sure that it wouldn't harm me, let alone my baby. I recognize that I might sound paranoid, but then again I've seen the effects of Diethylstilbestrol (DES) (http://www.cdc.gov/des/). I couldn't risk that kind of pain for myself or my child.
ReplyDeleteNope. I did not expereinece much sickness during my pregnancies but there is no way I would consider smoking pot to alleviate morning sickness. Too risky. I avoided cigarette smoke, raw fish, caffiene etc why would I purposfully add this toxin to my body? No way.
ReplyDeleteI'm not cool enough to use a narcotic cough syrup (thought it was going to kill me) so I can say with great confidence that I wouldn't be smoking a doobie for morning sickness. I'd have to be a sick sick lady to resort to pot.
ReplyDeleteYour title alone is enough to make my mouth drop open. Why would you take anything into your body while you are pregnant that even has the slightest chance of causing problems for your baby? NEVER.NEVER.NEVER. I was lucky and was only sick for the first month of pregnancy, but I knew it would end at some point. One of my step-sisters is the horribly sick ALL 9 months kind of girls, and she is now on her 3rd pregnancy and I guarantee the use of drugs would NEVER even cross her mind.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I have been living under rock or what, but I have never heard of this for morning sickness. I was horribly sick with my youngest, but never in my wildest dreams would I have used pot! I always told myself that it would pass and in the end I would have a happy, healthy baby to show for it.
ReplyDeleteWe use all kind of medical interventions while pregnant that some say are bad/potentially bad for us and/or the baby (c-sections, epidurals, pain medications, ultrasounds and amniocentesis to name a few) so I don't see much of a difference. Personally I didn't like to take medication of any kind while pregnant but to each their own.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that a doctor offered to prescribe it for her, but I probably wouldn't have tried it myself either. Now, that doesn't mean I won't have a sip of wine every now and again... but I certainly wouldn't risk smoking a whole joint.
ReplyDeleteOh, my lands! This is horrifying. I wouldn't dream of smoking weed while I was pregnant (or otherwise, for that matter). It is scary that anyone would recommend this. I was sick constantly and it was miserable but I wouldn't dare risking my child's health (or my own) to stop it. Wow.
ReplyDeleteAre you kidding, what are people thinking. I was sick for nine months with both pregnancies--Hyperemesis gravidarum. I lost over twenty pounds during each pregnancy and had many trips to the hospital for IV fluids but even in those extremes I would never do anything that might have any possible negative effect on my babies.
ReplyDeleteCha Cha
PS My girls will be getting their frames for Christmas, can't wait till they get to see them.
Wow. Although my kids are now 18 and 21, I will never forget how desperately sick I was, for 9 straight months. Losing 18+ pounds before gaining an ounce, being hospitalized for dehydration......and yet, would I smoke MM? Uhhh, NO. Would not risk that. Tough I'm sure for some, because being that sick is just beyond terrible. But I wouldn't want to risk it.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking as someone who work as a teacher with developmentally disabled adults, I would NOT put my child at any kind of un-needed risk. Especially after seeing first hand what drinking and drug use can do to your unborn child and the effects that it has on THEM their entire life. Also, speaking as someone who is and has been trying to get pregnant and has lost a pregnancy, I would throw up my guts 24 hours a day for 9 months straight if that is what it took for me to have a healthy child. (And I HATE to throw up...and yes I realize that would get old).
ReplyDeleteNO! .....and I definitely want to read the explanation for anyone that says YES!!
ReplyDeleteNo.
ReplyDeleteBut then again I never drink any alcohol, too, neither do I take other medicaments. I´d be curious how many of those who condemn marihuana because it is a drug are perfectly fine with the "one glass of wine won´t harm anything" or taking other medicamentaion into their body, just because the doc prescribes it.
I sometimes wonder why some drugs are socially accepted and some are not, I think often it´s irrational.