Webinar: Cannabis & Perinatal Health: Short Conversations That Can Make a Big Difference
[Updated 12/05/2022 to include the new Healthline article resource listed below.]
Recent studies suggest that prenatal cannabis use has increased by 25% since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Women who use cannabis during pregnancy often say they hope it will help reduce stress, anxiety, and nausea. How do professionals who work with pregnant women make sure they understand the harms of prenatal cannabis use? And how do they help women quit, and provide resources for stress reduction?
In this webinar — hosted by LA Best Babies Network on November 14, 2022, for staff in our network of home visiting organizations and Welcome Baby hospitals — Dr. Sarah Ferraro Cunningham:
- Describes three of the changes in current trends related to attitudes & beliefs surrounding cannabis use, changes in THC potency, and methods of use
- Provides three examples of how maternal and prenatal cannabis use can impact mental health and life outcomes for offspring
- Identifies at least two resources for learning more for both practitioners and expecting/new mothers
- Names at least two clinical strategies for addressing cannabis use with expectant mothers utilizing the motivational interviewing approach
About the presenter:
Dr. Cunningham is a licensed psychologist in the San Francisco Bay Area who specializes in substance use. She pursued her master’s degree at Northeastern University in 2000, where she completed her training with Cambridge Health Alliance, an affiliate of Harvard University Medical School. She earned her doctoral degree in clinical psychology at the American School of Professional Psychology, San Francisco. Throughout her career, Dr. Cunningham has demonstrated a deep commitment to research, innovation and early intervention.
Please subscribe to LABestBabies on YouTube!
Resources
- Webinar presentation slides: Cannabis & Perinatal Health: Short Conversations That Can Make a Big Difference
- Additional resources on perinatal health (Panaptic)
- Cannabis Use Is On the Rise Among Pregnant People. What Are the Risks? (Healthline, 11/29/22)
- Marijuana drug use increasing during pregnancy: Trends in Self-reported and Biochemically Tested Marijuana Use Among Pregnant Females in California From 2009-2016 (JAMA, 12/26/17)
- Prenatal cannabis exposure: NIH-funded results add to growing scientific evidence of negative health effects of cannabis use during pregnancy (NIH, 09/12/22)
- What Is Substance Abuse Treatment? A Booklet for Families (SAMHSA)
- What You Should Know About Using Cannabis, Including CBD, During Pregnancy and Breastfeeding (also in Spanish) (FDA)
- Pregnancy and Drug Use (also in Spanish) (Medline Plus)
- LABBN’s previous webinar on Marijuana, Pregnancy, and Breastfeeding (07/23/2018)