Cannabis use during pregnancy linked to dramatically higher rates of depression, panic, and suicidal ideation
In a database of over 2 million pregnant patients, those who used cannabis had 2.7 times higher rates of depression, 5.5 times higher panic disorder, 10.7 times higher suicidal ideation, and 13.6 times higher alcohol abuse compared to non-users.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
Cannabis use during pregnancy was associated with significantly elevated risks across all four mental health outcomes: depression (RR 2.66), panic disorder (RR 5.47), suicidal ideation (RR 10.67), and alcohol abuse (RR 13.57). Depression affected 29.7% of cannabis users versus 11.2% of non-users. All differences were highly significant (p < 0.001).
Key Numbers
Sample: 51,087 cannabis users vs 1,936,508 non-users during pregnancy from 69 HCOs. Depression: 29.7% vs 11.2% (RR 2.66, HR 3.50). Panic disorder: RR 5.47, HR 5.01. Suicidal ideation: RR 10.67, HR 9.81. Alcohol abuse: RR 13.57, HR 12.44.
How They Did This
Retrospective cohort study using the TriNetX database, including over 2 million pregnant patients from 69 US healthcare organizations. A cohort of 51,087 cannabis users during pregnancy was compared to 1,936,508 non-users. Outcomes were identified using ICD-10 codes. Risk ratios, hazard ratios, and Kaplan-Meier survival analyses were calculated.
Why This Research Matters
Cannabis use during pregnancy has risen alongside legalization and perceived safety. These dramatic risk ratios for depression, panic, suicidal ideation, and alcohol abuse underscore that prenatal cannabis use may be a marker for, or contributor to, serious maternal mental health challenges that affect both mother and child.
The Bigger Picture
The very high risk ratios for suicidal ideation and alcohol abuse likely reflect that prenatal cannabis use is a marker for broader substance use and mental health vulnerability, not necessarily that cannabis directly causes these outcomes. The association with alcohol abuse (RR 13.57) particularly suggests polysubstance patterns. Still, these numbers highlight the importance of screening and support.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Retrospective database study using ICD-10 codes, which may undercount both cannabis use and mental health diagnoses. No causal conclusions can be drawn: cannabis use during pregnancy likely correlates with many unmeasured social and psychological risk factors. No propensity matching or adjustment for confounders was described in the abstract.
Questions This Raises
- ?How much of the elevated risk is directly attributable to cannabis versus underlying vulnerability and polysubstance use?
- ?Would these associations hold after adjusting for socioeconomic factors, prior mental health history, and other substance use?
- ?Does the dose or frequency of cannabis use matter?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- 29.7% of pregnant cannabis users had depression vs 11.2% of non-users
- Evidence Grade:
- Very large retrospective cohort (2 million patients) from a national database, but limited by ICD-10 code reliance and unclear confounding adjustment.
- Study Age:
- Published in 2025.
- Original Title:
- Cannabis Use During Pregnancy Correlates With Adverse Maternal Mental Health Outcomes: A Retrospective Study.
- Published In:
- Cureus, 17(4), e82146 (2025)
- Authors:
- Dereschuk, Kypros J, Espiridion, Eduardo
- Database ID:
- RTHC-06335
Evidence Hierarchy
Looks back at existing records to find patterns.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
Does cannabis cause these mental health problems during pregnancy?
The study found associations, not causation. Pregnant people who use cannabis may already have higher rates of mental health conditions and other substance use, which could explain much of the elevated risk.
Why was the alcohol abuse association so high?
The 13.6x higher rate of alcohol abuse among cannabis users during pregnancy likely reflects polysubstance use patterns rather than cannabis directly causing alcohol problems.
How common was cannabis use during pregnancy?
About 2.6% of the study population (51,087 out of nearly 2 million pregnant patients) had cannabis use documented in their medical records, though actual rates may be higher due to underreporting.
Read More on RethinkTHC
Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-06335APA
Dereschuk, Kypros J; Espiridion, Eduardo. (2025). Cannabis Use During Pregnancy Correlates With Adverse Maternal Mental Health Outcomes: A Retrospective Study.. Cureus, 17(4), e82146. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.82146
MLA
Dereschuk, Kypros J, et al. "Cannabis Use During Pregnancy Correlates With Adverse Maternal Mental Health Outcomes: A Retrospective Study.." Cureus, 2025. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.82146
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Cannabis Use During Pregnancy Correlates With Adverse Matern..." RTHC-06335. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/dereschuk-2025-cannabis-use-during-pregnancy
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.