can anything harmful be passed through mothers' milk?

hilltop · 12-05-2005, 07:59 PM

Hi there, Does anyone know if there are detrimental side effects to a baby if the mother smokes a couple of joints a night. Obviously there is no smoking around the baby, i am not on about passive smoking, but is there anything harmfull that could be passed through the mothers milk
Cheers

Buzzby · 12-05-2005, 08:06 PM

You will find people who disagree vehemently, but an ethnographic study of Jamaican mothers who smoked prenatally showed no adverse effects. On some measures of development, the babies of the smokers scored better than the babies of the control group.

If you're not breastfeeding there would be no effect at all. If you are, there are some cannabinoids that are transferred via breast milk.

Prenatal Marijuana Exposure and Neonatal Outcomes in Jamaica: An Ethnographic Study

hilltop · 12-05-2005, 08:13 PM

Thanks for your quick reply.
The new debate on the effects of cannabis on not yet fully developed minds is a worry. Will the amount of cannabinoids in the milk cause anything untoward.

Buzzby · 12-05-2005, 08:20 PM

Based on the study I cited, I wouldn't think so. These babies gestated for nine months in an environment where their blood supply frequently had cannabinoids added. That had no adverse effects. The cannabinoid levels from mother's milk would, I expect, be much lower.

Higher Logic · 12-05-2005, 11:27 PM

Check out this article called Cannabis Chemical Pregnancy Link, as well as the following thread on Cannabis, Pregnancy & Breastfeeding. Also check out the article about Study Favors Pot Smoking In Pregnancy.

And allow me to quote myself from a different thread:

Quote:

Apparently you missed the part about how there is no evidence that shows cannabis is bad for a developing fetus. Please do some research before you make such claims...here, I'll save you the time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pediatrics, February 1994, Volume 93, Number 2, pp. 254-260.

Participants. Twenty-four Jamaican neonates exposed to marijuana prenatally and 20 nonexposed neonates.

Measurements and main results. Exposed and nonexposed neonates were compared at 3 days and 1 month old, using the Brazelton Neonatal Assessment Scale, including supplementary items to capture possible subtle effects. There were no significant differences between exposed and nonexposed neonates on day 3. At 1 month, the exposed neonates showed better physiological stability and required less examiner facilitation to reach organized states. The neonates of heavy-marijuana-using mothers had better scores on autonomic stability, quality of alertness, irritability, and self-regulation and were judged to be more rewarding for caregivers.

Conclusions. The absence of any differences between the exposed on nonexposed groups in the early neonatal period suggest that the better scores of exposed neonates at 1 month are traceable to the cultural positioning and social and economic characteristics of mothers using marijuana that select for the use of marijuana but also promote neonatal development. Pediatrics 1994;93:254-260; prenatal marijuana exposure, neonatal outcomes, Jamaica, Brazelton scale supplementary items.

Here's some more for ya:

Quote:

A second study reported a threefold grater risk of rhabdomyosarcoma. These calculations were based on women's reports that they used marijuana at some point during pregnancy. In the first study, ten out of the 204 case-group mothers (5 percent) reported marijuana use, compared to one out of the 204 control group mothers (0.5 percent). In the second study, 8 percent of case group mothers reported using marijuana, compared to 4.3 percent of controls.

These studies to not prove that marijuana use by pregnant women causes cancer in their children. They report a statistical association based solely on women's self-reports of marijuana use. It is likely that both groups of mothers underreported marijuana use; in other studies, researchers have found that marijuana use by pregnant women typically ranges from 10 to 30 percent. There is reason to suspect greater underreporting by control-group mothers, who were randomly selected and questioned about their marijuana use on the telephone. Because the mothers of the sick children were trying to help researchers identify the cause of their children's disease, they had more reason to be honest about their illegal drug use.

And some more...

Quote:

In one study, children of ganja-using mothers were tested and compared with children of non-ganja using mothers. Tests were conducted when the children were 1, 3, and 30 days old, and at ages four and five.

No statistically significant differences in developmental abilities were found, except that the 30-day test showed that children of ganja-using mothers were superior to children of non-ganja mothers in two ways. These children had better organization and modulation of sleeping and waking, and they were less prone to stress-related anxiety.

The release of these study results was considered politically incorrect by anti-marijuana factions in government and academia, because they so directly contradicted the oft-repeated assertion that prenatal marijuana use hurts children and that marijuana users were poor mothers. Dreher's studies found the opposite: ganja mothers were often better mothers than their non-ganja using counterparts. Their households were often cleaner, better-funded and more fun than those where cannabis was shunned!

Eh, some more...

Quote:

Ganja is also used as a strength-enhancing potion to enable children to perform arduous tasks. The use of ganja to increase work performance is a common theme in Jamaican ganja culture; men use it to help them survive in the torrid sugar cane fields, women use it to give them strength to do lots of tiring household chores by hand.

Ganja mothers also believe that ganja helps their children perform better in school. Ganja does this by increasing children's ability to concentrate on schoolwork, to pay attention to what the teacher is saying, not to be distracted by school mates or the activities of other classes, to sit quietly in class, to complete homework even when tired, and to handle the stress of examinations. Jamaican women refer to ganja as "Wisdom Weed," and as the king of bush teas which had sometimes saved lives when doctors were unavailable.

Ganja women have two primary methods for preparing ganja infusions consumed by children. Ganja tea is made by boiling or steeping leaves and stems, then adding large quantities of sugar and, sometimes, milk. Flavor-rich ingredients such as anise or mint are sometimes added to teas to disguise their taste; family members are sometimes unaware that they are consuming ganja tea. This also lends more credibility to Dreher's findings because it eliminates the placebo effect which can occur when people have been told that they have ingested a drug.

[...]

"I don't want to belittle the problems or concerns of North American parents who worry about drug use among children," Dreher continued, "but it's very possible that marijuana is being blamed for problems it has nothing to do with such as poor nutrition, societal decay, lackluster schools, and incompetent parenting. We need to be very careful not to ignore the social setting and ideology that surrounds substance use in different societies when we attempt to evaluate how a drug affects people or society. My Jamaican studies indicate that, in the case of marijuana, we might want to re-examine our assumptions and myths, especially when they contradict reality."

...and...

Quote:

A new study of children born to Marijuana-smoking mothers found no link between Marijuana exposure and the birth defects of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). The new study, by Dr. Susan J. Astley of the University of Washington, published in the January, 1992 issue of Pediatrics, contradicted a 1982 study by Dr. Ralph Hingson, in which prenatal exposure to Marijuana was found to increase the risk of FAS.

...and...

Quote:

Marijuana has little evidence implicating it in fetal harm, unlike alcohol, cocaine or tobacco. Epidemiological studies have found no evident link between prenatal use of Marijuana and birth defects in humans. A recent study by Dr. Susan Astley at the University of Washington refuted an earlier work suggesting that cannabis might cause fetal alcohol syndrome.

...and...

Quote:

A well-controlled study found that cannabis use had a positive impact on birthweight during the third trimester of pregnancy with no adverse behavioral consequences. Another study of Jamaican women who had smoked pot throughout pregnancy found that their babies registered higher on developmental scores at the age of 30 days, while experiencing no significant effects on birthweight or length.

...and...

Quote:

While cannabis use is not recommended in pregnancy, it may be of medical value to some women in treating morning sickness or easing childbirth.

...and...

Quote:

Cognitive and receptive language development were examined in 135 60-month-old and 137 72-month-old children for whom prenatal exposure to Marijuana, cigarettes, and alcohol had been ascertained. Discriminant Function analysis revealed an association between prenatal cigarette exposure and lower cognitive and receptive language scores at 60 and 72 months. This paralleled and extended observations made with this sample at annual assessments at 12 to 48 months of age. Unlike observations made at 48 months, prenatal exposure to Marijuana was not associated with the cognitive and verbal outcomes.

...and...

Quote:

Children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy had somewhat higher adjusted Raven and PPVT scores than children of nonsmokers, although they did not differ in their activity level.” In other words, children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy did somewhat better on standard cognitive development tests than children of nonsmokers.

Also check out CLAIM #7 on the "EXPOSING MARIJUANA MYTHS" page about how cannabis DOES NOT harm the fetus during pregnancy: http://www.marijuana.com/Exposing_07_1095.html

For the record, I don't think cannabis is bad for children, mothers who are pregnant, or developing babies. Why would something nontoxic that is not harmful to adults all of a sudden be harmful for children? You are falling into the trap of the prohibitionists who cry "IT'S FOR THE CHILDREN!"

Education. Such a great thing.

Cassius · 12-06-2005, 01:51 AM

can't.... stand it.... must.... rename.... thread....

Higher Logic · 12-06-2005, 01:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassius

can't.... stand it.... must.... rename.... thread....

I was going to but didn't. Actually, I was going to merge it with the pre-existing marijuana, breastfeeding and pregnancy thread but didn't do that either.

Just imagine how easy it would be to search on this forum if people actually put relevant information in the title field?

I just pretend I'm writing a news article or headline, it should include keywords and/or a question form of what you want.

Example: a thread about wisdom teeth.
Bad: need some help...
Good: Wisdom Teeth: Safe To Smoke Afterwards?

Exampe: a thread about a panic attack you had
Bad: this thread, titled "Can someone help me out please. i beg you"
Good: Heh, this was a trick question, there is no "good" thread, a search would have found the answer

12-05-2005, 07:59 PM	#1
hilltop New Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 3 Grams: 1,566.75 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Stock Portfolio Total Value: 0.000 Gain/Loss: 0.000%	can anything harmful be passed through mothers' milk? Hi there, Does anyone know if there are detrimental side effects to a baby if the mother smokes a couple of joints a night. Obviously there is no smoking around the baby, i am not on about passive smoking, but is there anything harmfull that could be passed through the mothers milk Cheers

12-05-2005, 08:06 PM	#2
Buzzby Buddhist Curmudgeon Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 16,800 Grams: 91,150.87 Thanks: 995 Thanked 6,791 Times in 3,137 Posts Stock Portfolio Total Value: 0.000 Gain/Loss: 0.000%	You will find people who disagree vehemently, but an ethnographic study of Jamaican mothers who smoked prenatally showed no adverse effects. On some measures of development, the babies of the smokers scored better than the babies of the control group. If you're not breastfeeding there would be no effect at all. If you are, there are some cannabinoids that are transferred via breast milk. Prenatal Marijuana Exposure and Neonatal Outcomes in Jamaica: An Ethnographic Study __________________ 60% of the people of America now say we are heading toward a depression. Not a recession, a depression. We are in desperate need of profitable industries that we can tax. Um... Now can we legalize pot? ~ Bill Maher Theocracy Watch

12-05-2005, 08:13 PM	#3
hilltop New Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 3 Grams: 1,566.75 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Stock Portfolio Total Value: 0.000 Gain/Loss: 0.000%	Hilltop Thanks for your quick reply. The new debate on the effects of cannabis on not yet fully developed minds is a worry. Will the amount of cannabinoids in the milk cause anything untoward.

12-06-2005, 01:51 AM	#6
Cassius Seasoned Activist Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 2,160 Grams: 5,217.80 Thanks: 0 Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts Stock Portfolio Total Value: 0.000 Gain/Loss: 0.000%	can't.... stand it.... must.... rename.... thread.... __________________ { Cassius, Your Humble Narrator } { Posting Guidelines \| Erowid Drug Information Resource \| instantfilehosting.com }

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