TUESDAY, Dec. 12, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Maternal cannabis use is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes known to be related to placental dysfunction, according to a study published in the Dec. 12 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Torri D. Metz, M.D., from the University of Utah Health in Salt Lake City, and colleagues examined the association between maternal cannabis use and adverse pregnancy outcomes known to be related to placental function in an ancillary analysis of nulliparous individuals treated at eight U.S. medical centers. Participants were recruited from 2010 through 2013; 9,257 were eligible for the analysis.

The researchers found that 610 participants (6.6 percent) had cannabis use: 32.4 and 67.6 percent had exposure only during the first trimester and ongoing exposure beyond the first trimester, respectively. In the propensity score-weighted analyses after adjustment for sociodemographic characteristics, body mass index, medical comorbidities, and active nicotine use ascertained via urine cotinine assays, cannabis exposure was associated with the primary composite outcome: small-for-gestational-age birth, medically indicated preterm birth, stillbirth, or hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (25.9 versus 17.4 percent; adjusted relative risk, 1.29). Cannabis use during the first trimester only was not associated with the primary composite outcome, but ongoing cannabis use was associated with the primary composite outcome (adjusted relative risk, 1.32) in a three-category cannabis exposure model.

“Cannabis use is not safe,” coauthor Robert M. Silver, M.D., also from the University of Utah Health, said in a statement. “It increases the risk of pregnancy complications. If possible, you shouldn’t use cannabis during pregnancy.”

Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

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