Many are still concerned about the potential for harm to the developing baby if a mother uses cannabis (marijuana) during pregnancy, and some studies have indicated there is reason for concern. However, other studies have shown no differences between babies exposed to cannabis compared to those who weren’t. Why such conflicting findings?
One potential answer can involve the overall nutritional health and wellness of the individual mother. Some have argued that the importance of the essential nutrient choline is not stressed enough with expecting mothers like other pre-natal vitamins, regardless of cannabis use. Choline is made in small amounts in the liver but in order to get enough it must be found in our foods as well.
In this study performed at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and published in Psychological Medicine, researchers found that pregnant mothers who used marijuana were able to improve the negative effects on their newborns development if the mothers had higher levels of choline in their bodies.
Fifteen percent of the mothers in the study had used cannabis for the first 10 weeks of pregnancy or longer. Choline levels were measured in the blood of the mothers at 16 weeks of pregnancy. Choline is found in such foods as meats, fish, eggs, broccoli and beans.
