Women Who Smoke Marijuana During Pregnancy May Put Babies at Risk

Fetal growth and development may be impaired when pregnant women smoke marijuana, according to new research from the Netherlands.

Reuters reported Jan. 22 that researchers studied 7,000 pregnant women, including some who acknowledged smoking marijuana during pregnancy, and found that babies delivered by marijuana users weighed less at birth and had smaller heads.

The results were similar to those found in studies of cigarette smokers. Most of the marijuana users in the study also smoked cigarettes, but researchers said that marijuana use seemed to affect birth size even more than cigarette smoking alone.

Researchers found that the longer a woman smoked marijuana during pregnancy, the more pronounced the effects were on fetal development.

The study was published in the December 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.