Is cannabis safe for breastfeeding? Here’s the latest

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There is mounting interest around how safe cannabis is for breastfeeding and we’re here to share the latest from experts.

Pregnancy is a challenge. And postpartum? Well, that comes with a whole new batch of mental and physical challenges, one of the largest being breastfeeding.

There are considerable benefits of breastfeeding your baby. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, it can protect from infant diarrhea, UTIs, respiratory tract infections, obesity and a number of diseases like diabetes and lymphoma. Breastfeeding can also help new mothers return to their pre-pregnancy weight and lower their risk for breast and ovarian cancers.

In addition to the trials of breastfeeding, mothers experience pain, hormone imbalance and changes in mood, lack of sleep, and anxiety and stress. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as many as one in five women suffer from postpartum depression. It is an intense time for a woman’s mental, emotional and physical health. More and more parents are turning to weed or CBD (weed’s non-psychoactive sister) products to alleviate this period and help them be present to the beautiful journey ahead of them.

Cannabis has been used as medicine, specifically for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers for thousands of years. As we know from our rundown on cannabinoids, both THC and CBD have been found to treat pain, nausea, help with sleep, nausea, depression, as well as relax the body and mind. CBD is also anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, and antibacterial. Cannabis has been a natural healer and plant-based option for those who choose not to pursue pharmaceutical medicine like antidepressants, which may not be appropriate for breastfeeding and may need to be discontinued during breastfeeding period. Holistic healers and doulas who support plant-based healing, turn to CBD and cannabis as an option to help relieve stress and anxiety, pain during pregnancy and labor, and sleep troubles. The anecdotal evidence from past and present can be used to formulate a testable hypotheses to validate the use of cannabis for a mother’s health.

It is an intense time for a woman’s mental, emotional and physical health. More and more parents are turning to weed or CBD (weed’s non-psychoactive sister) products to alleviate this period and help them be present to the beautiful journey ahead of them.

But, what do the doctors say?

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommend physicians tell moms not to consume any cannabis products, including CBD, if they wish to breastfeed. Doctors will never make a claim without the scientific evidence to back it up. And research about this topic is severely lacking. Only a few studies that have been done on this topic.

In 2018, the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology published a small study of eight women who used cannabis while breastfeeding. Milk from the mothers was tested 20 minutes after mothers smoked cannabis and then at one, two, and four hours post-use. THC is very fat-soluble and can cling onto the fat in breastmilk. Roughly 2.5% of the THC dose the mother ingested was found to be transferred to the breast milk. While the study was able to measure the THC in breast milk, they were unable to collect blood samples from the infants to see if they had measurable levels of THC in their bodies. The limitations to these types of studies make it difficult for many experts to advise its use for nursing parents.

In 1994, a study, commonly known as the “Roots Daughters” study, was conducted by Dr. Melanie Dreher was done in rural Jamaica. Dreher and her team observed 24 expecting mothers who used cannabis. Mothers said the cannabis helped with depression and stress, as well as nausea and served to increase appetite in the early stages of pregnancy. Dreher also evaluated 20 mothers in the population who did not use cannabis. Dreher found no significant differences between the exposed and non-exposed infants. In fact, at one month, the exposed newborns showed better physiological ability. Dreher did a five-year follow up testing the children and there were no significant differences in developmental testing outcomes.

“Our Endocannabinoid System is a complex biological system is involved with every aspect of fertility-ovulation, tubal transport, readying of the uterine lining, and timing and proper implantation of the embryo. I wouldn’t give a blanket okay to using cannabis during pregnancy. The relationship between the embryo and the mother’s uterus is just too complicated, and there is not enough research to prove CBD/THC is 100 % safe,” says HiVi Medical Advisor Dr. June Chin.

Because it remains scientifically unclear what exposure to cannabis products means for an infant during a critical neurobehavioral development period, physicians feel that it’s better to err on the side of caution.

One thing is for sure

Way more research is needed to determine whether it is safe to breastfeed while using cannabis. When it comes to the studies we have to rely on currently, there is insufficient data on both sides, as well as dependency on self-reporting or other factors, such as whether or not the mother used different substances alongside cannabis, like tobacco or alcohol.

“One of the best things you can do before getting pregnant is to decrease stress, inflammation and prepare your body for pregnancy,” says Dr. Chin.

Also, there are multiple ways to consume cannabis. You do not have to ingest or smoke to feel the healing properties of the plant. THC and CBD topicals can be a natural option for bodily aches and pains without cannabinoids entering your bloodstream or breastmilk. There are balms, salves, patches and suppositories for targeted and localized pain and ache relief. With topicals, THC or CBD is diffused transdermally, or through the skin and local membranes. It doesn’t provide full-body relief, but can relieve the localized inflammation in the muscles and joints.

As always, please consult your doctor before integrating cannabis. A nursing woman should always be careful when using any medication, cannabis or otherwise, that might affect the health of the baby.