Pregnant individuals described how the COVID-19 pandemic changed their cannabis use | Research

The takeaway

Qualitative interviews with pregnant cannabis users revealed the pandemic increased stress, isolation, and anxiety that either triggered new cannabis use or intensified existing patterns during pregnancy.

Prenatal care providers, maternal mental health professionals, and public health researchers studying pandemic effects on pregnancy behaviors.

Pandemic stress and isolation drove changes in prenatal cannabis use patterns

What the researchers found

The COVID-19 pandemic contributed to changes in prenatal cannabis use through increased stress, isolation, reduced healthcare access, and heightened anxiety. Some participants increased use, while others described the pandemic as the catalyst for starting cannabis during pregnancy.

Why it matters

Prenatal cannabis use increased during the pandemic. Understanding the specific mechanisms (stress, isolation, reduced healthcare) helps design interventions that address the root causes rather than just the cannabis use itself.

The numbers in context

Qualitative interviews with pregnant cannabis users during COVID-19. Pandemic-related stress and isolation identified as key drivers of changed use patterns.

How the study worked

Qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with pregnant individuals who used cannabis during the COVID-19 pandemic. Explored pandemic-related changes in cannabis use patterns and motivations.

What this study cannot tell us

Qualitative study cannot quantify prevalence or measure health outcomes. Self-selected participants willing to discuss cannabis use during pregnancy. Recall may be affected by ongoing pandemic stress. Cannot separate pandemic effects from normal pregnancy-related use changes.

How to read the evidence

Qualitative study providing in-depth perspectives. Cannot be generalized quantitatively.

When this study was published

Published 2023. Interviews during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The bigger picture

The pandemic served as a natural experiment revealing how external stressors affect prenatal substance use decisions. The lessons apply beyond COVID-19 to any period of heightened stress or reduced healthcare access for pregnant populations.

Questions still open

As pandemic stressors resolve, are prenatal cannabis use rates returning to pre-pandemic levels? Would telehealth-based prenatal cannabis counseling reach more people?

Common questions

Did the pandemic increase cannabis use during pregnancy?

Quantitative studies suggest yes, and this qualitative study explains how. Participants described pandemic-related stress, isolation, anxiety, and reduced healthcare access as factors that either triggered or intensified cannabis use during pregnancy.

Why do pregnant people use cannabis during stressful times?

Participants described using cannabis to manage anxiety, insomnia, nausea, and emotional distress that were amplified by pandemic conditions. Some viewed cannabis as safer than prescription medications. Limited healthcare access during lockdowns reduced opportunities for discussing alternatives.

Read the original research

Pregnant individual's lived experience of cannabis use during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study.

Frontiers in psychiatry, 14, 1161137

View on PubMed ↗Publisher’s paper ↗

Citation

Young-Wolff, Kelly C; Foti, Tara R; Green, Andrea; Iturralde, Esti; Jackson-Morris, Melanie; Does, Monique B; Adams, Sara R; Goler, Nancy; Conway, Amy; Ansley, Deborah; Altschuler, Andrea. (2023). Pregnant individual's lived experience of cannabis use during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study.. Frontiers in psychiatry, 14, 1161137. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1161137