by Ronisha Johnson

Created on: June 20, 2009

In the United States it is unclear the effects of marijuana use during pregnancy. This is something that has not been fully researched for whatever reasons. As a mother who used marijuana quite often before I found out I was pregnant with my second and third baby I will say they both turned out healthy so far. I say so far because they are both still young. One is four years old and the other is just nine months old.

When I enrolled my four year old into preschool they told me that they would do an assessment to find out where she stands compared to other children her age. I was eager to find out the results as every one has told me that she is very bright. The results came in a few weeks and her teacher told me that she was at the top of her class. The only thing out of a list of twenty-five things that she could not do was tie her shoe. That is only because I don't buy her shoes that require her to tie. Her older sister worked with her to teach her how to tie shoes and a few days later she had it down packed. So when the winter came she was able to lace up her boots like most three and four year old's can.

My youngest is developing quite well. She is nine months and she can say a variety of sounds already. She has been using sounds since she was just a few weeks old. Since she was six months she has been able to bear her weight on her legs and stand for a few minutes at a time. Now she can hold on to something and take a step or two. She hasn't bothered with crawling although now when she gets on her knees she does attempt to crawl before falling on her head. Basically she is not behind in developing at all.

I found an article on the Internet that states:

... unless you smoke in excess of three grams (6 to 10 joints) of marijuana a day, everyday you are pregnant, it is very unlikely that you will damage your unborn baby. (http://www.a1b2c3.com/drugs/wom06.htm)

I am not at all promoting the use of marijuana during pregnancy. If any damage is done it is the damage of smoke inhalation of the mother. This can lead to low birth weight, preterm labor and in worst cases mental disabilities. Marijuana itself does not cause much harm to adults. The only harm it does cause is the effects to the lungs from smoke inhalation and temporarily short term memory loss. For mothers out there wondering if they have screwed up their unborn baby due to the use of marijuana before they found out they were pregnant, I strongly doubt it.

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