‘It Helped to Calm Me’: Perspectives on Cannabis Use During Pregnancy and Parenting from Certified Patients in Pennsylvania

Abstract

Background: Research on the benefits of cannabis use continues to expand, and those benefits may extend to parents and pregnant people. However, there are few studies that examine perspectives of pregnant and parenting individuals who use cannabis, and no studies with parents who are medical cannabis patients for treatment of qualifying conditions (e.g., chronic pain, anxiety). Methods: We used a thematic content analysis approach to analyze 24 semi-structured qualitative interviews with pregnant and parenting medical cannabis patients from a subsample within the Drexel University Medical Cannabis Research Center’s Pennsylvania Registry Study. Results: Key themes were generated around cannabis use during pregnancy: (1) cannabis use to manage pregnancy symptoms; and (2) cessation during pregnancy. Key themes also emerged around cannabis use while parenting: (1) maintaining parental focus and relieving stress; (2) managing mental health symptoms; and (3) navigating stigma and fear of social consequences as a parenting cannabis user. Discussion: Our sample of medical cannabis patients, some of whom continued to use while pregnant and parenting underscores the crucial need for healthcare providers to follow national guidelines regarding medical cannabis use during pregnancy and parenting, while also managing their qualifying health condition. Further, there is a critical need for common sense guidelines and legal information for medical cannabis patients. Since little is known about cannabis use during the perinatal period or while parenting, our novel findings begin to fill this critical gap in the literature from a medical cannabis patient perspective.