Women who use marijuana prior to pregnancy can more than double their risk of giving birth prematurely, new research has found.
A study of more than 3,000 women identified the most common risk factors of having a premature birth. Some of these included having a strong family history of underweight babies, having a mother with a history of pre-eclampsia and having a mother with diabetes type 1 or type 2.
Premature birth (at least three weeks before a baby’s due date) can result in serious and sometimes life-threatening health concerns for the baby, as well as a greater chance of developing health problems such as diabetes and heart disease later in life.
Researchers said a stronger understanding of the risk factors involved in premature births could help develop tests to better identify women who may be at risk and protect their babies from longer-term health problems.
Danny Hoardern
Analyst Programmer
Ahh, reefer madness lives on!
The study admits: "We are unable to determine whether this association is due to a toxic effect of marijuana or is a marker of a suite of lifestyle factors that contribute to the risk."
Toxic effect of marijuana? Cannabis has one of the highest therapeutic indexes (measure of toxicity - the higher the safer) known to mankind, here are a few common ones:
- alcohol: 1:10
- aspirin: 1:20
- caffeine: 1:100
- cannabis: 1:20,000 - 40,000[1]
It is estimated that…
Read morealexander j watt
logged in via Twitter
It is good to know what the risks are. but the argument for a regime of prohibition has always been based on a moral position, not a health based one. Although a regime of prohibition provides funds for studies into the harmfulness of illicit drugs, it is not interested in the possible benign effects, or in the harmfulness of prohibition itself.
the usa is now experimenting with decriminalising or legalising marijuana. a recent telegraph (uk) article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/9324428/Is-the-Prohibition-of-Pot-coming-to-an-end-in-the-US.html