Why Pregnant Women Use Cannabis: Mental Health and Emotional Coping Drive Decisions
Low-income pregnant cannabis users identified emotional regulation and mental health as their primary motivations, with pregnancy serving as a turning point that complicated but didn't always stop use.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
Five themes emerged: pregnancy as a turning point for cannabis use, cannabis for emotional regulation, complex cannabis-mental health ties, relational influences on use, and contextual barriers to informed decision-making — with emotional regulation and mental health as the most cited drivers.
Key Numbers
19 pregnant cannabis users interviewed; most Medicaid recipients; nearly half reported household income below $10,000; study conducted in Wisconsin where cannabis is illegal.
How They Did This
Reflexive thematic analysis of qualitative interviews with 19 pregnant cannabis users from a community-based program in Wisconsin (where cannabis remains illegal), most on Medicaid with nearly half below $10,000 household income.
Why This Research Matters
Understanding why pregnant women use cannabis — not just that they do — is essential for designing supportive rather than punitive public health interventions.
The Bigger Picture
These findings challenge the narrative that prenatal cannabis use is simply reckless behavior — for many low-income women, it's a coping mechanism for untreated mental health conditions in a system with inadequate support.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Small qualitative sample from a single state where cannabis is illegal; findings may differ in legal states; self-selected participants in a community program.
Questions This Raises
- ?Would providing accessible mental health services reduce prenatal cannabis use?
- ?How does cannabis legalization status affect pregnant women's willingness to discuss use with providers?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- Evidence Grade:
- Well-conducted qualitative study with member checking, but small sample from a single illegal-state context limits generalizability.
- Study Age:
- Published in 2026, reflecting current experiences of pregnant cannabis users in a prohibition state.
- Original Title:
- Multidimensional influences on prenatal cannabis use: A reflexive thematic analysis of low-income birthing people.
- Published In:
- Journal of public health research, 15(1), 22799036251395240 (2026)
- Authors:
- Alaniz, Kristine(2), Ngui, Emmanuel M, Laestadius, Linnea(2), Kako, Peninnah M, Yahaya, Musa, Vance, Tessa
- Database ID:
- RTHC-08070
Evidence Hierarchy
Watches what happens naturally without intervening.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
Why do pregnant women use cannabis?
This study found the primary drivers were emotional regulation and coping with mental health conditions like anxiety and depression, especially among women with limited access to mental health care.
Does pregnancy change cannabis use patterns?
Pregnancy was identified as a turning point — many women wanted to stop or reduce use but faced challenges when cannabis was their primary coping mechanism for untreated mental health issues.
Read More on RethinkTHC
Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-08070APA
Alaniz, Kristine; Ngui, Emmanuel M; Laestadius, Linnea; Kako, Peninnah M; Yahaya, Musa; Vance, Tessa. (2026). Multidimensional influences on prenatal cannabis use: A reflexive thematic analysis of low-income birthing people.. Journal of public health research, 15(1), 22799036251395240. https://doi.org/10.1177/22799036251395240
MLA
Alaniz, Kristine, et al. "Multidimensional influences on prenatal cannabis use: A reflexive thematic analysis of low-income birthing people.." Journal of public health research, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1177/22799036251395240
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Multidimensional influences on prenatal cannabis use: A refl..." RTHC-08070. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/alaniz-2026-multidimensional-influences-on-prenatal
Access the Original Study
Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkTHC research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.