Breastfeeding and Cannabis

First off, I am neither for or against using cannabis but I AM absolutely for learning the facts to make an educated decision for you & your family. I live in a state where cannabis is legal & while I have not used cannabis in a psychoactive way since before I was pregnant, I respect the right of the many mothers that do!

____

So what are the facts? Much to my dismay, there really aren’t that many. The latest study from April of 2018 involved only 8 mothers, some of whom never returned their paperwork & all smoked as opposed to ingesting. The results show that about 2.5% of the maternal THC dose gets passed to the babe but in reality it would be even less since the mother was inhaling while the babe was ingesting. It also showed that THC levels fall off in about one hour. 

____

So what do you do with those findings? Well, we use what we know about marijuana & also common sense. 🌿Ingesting marijuana would further reduce the amount of THC that a babe consumes through breastmilk. 🌿Feeding baby first will contribute to them receiving even lower doses of THC once they go to feed again. 🌿Start small - your body postpartum is different than it was before pregnancy so even if you used during your pregnancy, your body has once more changed. 🌿As always, if you feel like you cannot confidently care for your child while under the influence, make sure you have someone to call who can come over & help out. 🌿Reduce usage if you supply goes down. I found no reputable articles or studies on supply but we can surmise that since each woman reacts differently to different things, it’s always important to note supply when ingesting any foods or herbs. 

_____

Marijuana can help with things like anxiety and depression, 2 emotions that many mothers face postpartum. My personal feeling is that each mother needs to decide on her own and use responsibly. There is still A LOT we don’t know about marijuana use & breastfeeding but I’m happy that people are talking about it. Even if you don’t use, it’s good to know the facts so you can come from a place of knowledge to better understand those that do. 🙌🏼

____

📷 by @mamanielaphoto (https://mamaniela.co)