Online health questions about cannabis in pregnancy revealed gaps in provider responses about safety
An analysis of 364 online questions about perinatal cannabis found that while most provider responses called it harmful, nearly half did not discourage use, and about 9% described it as safe.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
The most common questions concerned drug test detection (24.7%), fertility effects (22.6%), fetal harms (21.3%), and breastfeeding exposure (14.4%). Provider responses were 55.6% harmful, 8.8% safe, 8.8% mixed, and 26.8% did not address safety. 49.6% discouraged use, 0.5% encouraged it, and 49.9% neither encouraged nor discouraged. Responses calling cannabis unsafe received more peer provider endorsements.
Key Numbers
364 questions, 596 responses from 277 providers. Safety: 55.6% harmful, 8.8% safe, 8.8% mixed, 26.8% unaddressed. Discouragement: 49.6% discouraged, 0.5% encouraged, 49.9% neutral. 1,004 provider agrees, 583 user thanks.
How They Did This
Analysis of 364 user questions and 596 health care provider responses posted on an anonymous digital health platform from March 2011 to January 2017. Provider sentiment coded for safety messaging and encouragement/discouragement. Endorsement measured through provider "agrees" and user "thanks."
Why This Research Matters
Pregnant and breastfeeding individuals increasingly seek cannabis information online. When nearly half of licensed provider responses fail to discourage perinatal cannabis use, it represents a significant missed opportunity for public health education.
The Bigger Picture
As cannabis normalization increases, the inconsistency in provider messaging about perinatal safety becomes more consequential. Standardized clinical guidelines and provider training could help close this gap.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Online platform responses may not represent in-person clinical advice. Questions were posted 2011-2017 and attitudes may have shifted. Coding of provider sentiment involves subjective judgment. Platform users may not be representative of all pregnant individuals.
Questions This Raises
- ?Have provider responses become more or less cautious since 2017?
- ?Would standardized clinical messaging about perinatal cannabis change patient behavior?
- ?Do patients who receive clearer safety messaging make different choices?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- 49.9% of providers neither encouraged nor discouraged perinatal cannabis use
- Evidence Grade:
- Systematic content analysis of a large digital dataset, but limited by platform-specific context and outdated time period.
- Study Age:
- 2020 publication analyzing 2011-2017 online posts. Provider attitudes toward perinatal cannabis may have evolved since data collection.
- Original Title:
- Women's Questions About Perinatal Cannabis Use and Health Care Providers' Responses.
- Published In:
- Journal of women's health (2002), 29(7), 919-926 (2020)
- Authors:
- Young-Wolff, Kelly C(42), Gali, Kathleen, Sarovar, Varada, Rutledge, Geoffrey W, Prochaska, Judith J
- Database ID:
- RTHC-02928
Evidence Hierarchy
A snapshot of a population at one point in time.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
What did pregnant people most commonly ask about cannabis?
The most frequent questions were about drug test detection during pregnancy (24.7%), effects on fertility (22.6%), harms to the fetus (21.3%), and exposure through breast milk (14.4%).
Did providers agree with each other?
Provider responses calling cannabis unsafe during pregnancy received significantly more endorsements ("agrees") from other providers, suggesting professional consensus that the messaging gap may reflect omission rather than disagreement.
Read More on RethinkTHC
Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-02928APA
Young-Wolff, Kelly C; Gali, Kathleen; Sarovar, Varada; Rutledge, Geoffrey W; Prochaska, Judith J. (2020). Women's Questions About Perinatal Cannabis Use and Health Care Providers' Responses.. Journal of women's health (2002), 29(7), 919-926. https://doi.org/10.1089/jwh.2019.8112
MLA
Young-Wolff, Kelly C, et al. "Women's Questions About Perinatal Cannabis Use and Health Care Providers' Responses.." Journal of women's health (2002), 2020. https://doi.org/10.1089/jwh.2019.8112
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Women's Questions About Perinatal Cannabis Use and Health Ca..." RTHC-02928. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/young-wolff-2020-womens-questions-about-perinatal
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.