Smoking weed and breastfeeding???? - Page 3

[Doodlebugsmom]

I just can't tell you all how happy I am to see so many reasonable mamas here who know the truth about marijuana and all the studies done. You mamas RULE! It's nice to be able to talk about things like this and have people offer support on the personal decisions that some mamas make!

[reilly's momma]

In her book Childbearing Year, Susun Weed recomends marijuana for stalled labor. Like other herbs, this plant has nutritional and medicinal uses which should not be ignored. And like other herbs, we must weigh the pros and cons individually in order to determine what is best for each of us and our children. One of the things we must consider, and something that I personally believe should not be an issue, is the problem of legality.

Also, I do not consider smoking anything around a child to be benign for anyone. For those who do partake, my only suggestion would be to take it in an ingestible form, such as tea, tincture, or, of course, brownies.

[Pallas]

My only concern would be that the brownies would be very tempting to littles, if you have any in the house.

I was told (when pg with debilitating nausea) that my hcp was more concerned with the method of ingestion being harmful -- that is, the customary "suck and hold" toking was more dangerous than the thc itself. She recommended tincture/tea/brownies as well.

Incidentally, I never did try it, though I know quite a few who swear by it for morning sickness. It was my first pregnancy, so (unlike this time) I had the luxury of being ill! Had I been equally sick this time around (I wasn't) I probably would have had to, in order to function well enough to care for my older kid. I also kept a close eye on my weight, and had that dropped to a dangerous level I'd have tried it, as well. Fortunately the Hub makes fabulous protien shakes!

I'd certainly be more comfortable with mj as an anti-nausea medication than a pharmaceutical. Yeah, I'm sure Thalidomide will never happen again. Whatever.

[Doodlebugsmom]

My only concern would be that the brownies would be very tempting to littles, if you have any in the house.

That is very true! It reminds me of when I was six years old and I went with my dad for the weekend to visit his best friend. They had these wonderful looking brownies that I wasn't allowed to eat. My dad told me they were "adult brownies". I actually had no problem with it at the time and didn't really think anything of it. Now, looking back, I think it's just crazy that they didn't have a kid version made for me! I was supposed to sit around watching all of them eat these delicious brownies and smile and laugh all night, but I couldn't have any? Not fair!

[candiland]

I was supposed to sit around watching all of them eat these delicious brownies and smile and laugh all night, but I couldn't have any? Not fair!

[dancingbear]

Thank you sunmountian

I am relieved and glad to see some like minded women out there.

The vaccines our doctors are giving the babes are WAY more Dangerous then pot....DUH and UGH!

and I was also told some SRI's were safe while bf, later to find out it is questionable.

Sunmountian thank you for your honesty and integrity, I am grateful for your insights and willingness to put it out on the line.

dancingbear

[beachrock]

Um, can I just say that when I said "indulge" way back there, I was referring to beer, which even the LLL book says is ok once in a while.

Also I do think there's a difference between drinking/smoking when your babe is a newborn & completely dependent on you for food, and doing so when your child is older & gets most of h/h daily calories from another source.

Part of the problem here is that alcohol & pot in bm have not been studied side by side.

[sunmountain]

Why do you think they should be studied side by side? How do you think that would affect the results?

[Wildcrafter]

mj is a plant

Let's not forget that mj is a plant, an herb, that in many places is grown outdoors organically and for personal use. Ask yourself what's in an advil or that pepto bismol, in your salad dressing or ground beef. How many ingredients are you ingesting that are not even food? What ARE THEY?

MJ is an herb with distinguishable qualities, such as causing mental stimulation. You may agree that a highly stimulated baby, as most are, would not benefit from this, even as little as is passed on through breastamilk. It definitely should not be illegal as it can be helpful during pms, stress relief (short term) and migraines. It is a strong plant, as many are, and is not meant to be used all day long every day but I don't see the harm in occasional use.

The point of illegal use and losing your baby if caught is a biggie. Although I don't see a good reason for it being illegal, I also don't see any good reason to risk losing my babe.

Anybody have more info on specific laws?

MTG

[beachrock]

Sunmountain,
I don't think it would affect the results, I think it would clarify the relative safety of pot vs. alcohol. I think there is a cultural bias toward believing that that the legal substance is the safe one, and the illegal one is not only not safe, but extremely harmful.

Woefully, the poster who pointed out that the funding of studies has slanted the results was so right. Studies are useless if they bolster political & economic interests instead of medicine & safety.

BTW, are we still talking about bf? it seems as if most of these posts refer to pg. I think the level of concern (at least MY level of concern) is higher regarding pg than bf, especially ebf, as I said earlier. The mother of a toddler can choose to wait to bf if she's concerned about any harmful effect of her milk. One mom I know used to routinely drink in the evenings and give her babe formula. She said she felt deprived when her dh drank & she couldn't. Wonder how her ds felt?

[Bradysmommy]

Ok i was wondering if a women decides to smoke pot or eat something with pot in it for morning sickness while she is pg. whats the reason to keep smoking it AFTER the baby is born. If it's for depression or "just for fun", i don't see a reason to keep doing it.

[sunmountain]

Thanks DeirdreAlison for clarifying that, I totally agree with you.

bradysmommy, I guess you could ask the same question of anyone who eats chocolate or drinks coffee or tea or has a drink with dinner. Or for that matter, why would someone stop taking prozac after the baby is born if they still need it? I'm not being sarcastic, I'm serious.
It is a medicine, but one with many many uses.

[Doodlebugsmom]

bradysmommy, I guess you could ask the same question of anyone who eats chocolate or drinks coffee or tea or has a drink with dinner. Or for that matter, why would someone stop taking prozac after the baby is born if they still need it? I'm not being sarcastic, I'm serious.

Sunmountain, EXACTLY! I couldn't agree more.

[jazminflower]

sorry-double post...

[jazminflower]

while visiting friends recently, i told them about the jamacia study. a father of 2 bf dds said " of course the babies are smarter--mama smokes pot, baby drinks milk, baby gets munchies, then baby wants more milk!- the milk makes their minds grow!!"
i nearly fell off my chair i was laughing so hard!!

thought i'd break up the debate with some humor

[tiffani]

Seeing as how it is so difficult to find unbiased studies, let alone unbiased studies on BF and pot (neither one makes any $ for anyone willing to spend $ on research) we'll probably never know if smoking pot during BF is harmful, neutral or even beneficial (wouldn't that be great!!).
I've done a lot of BFing in my day, and researched it quite a bit too, and what I've learned about alcohol and BFing is that it takes roughly a six-pack a day for a week for enough alcohol to get into your milk to affect your baby, and that was a conservative estimate. I'd be more concerned about a mother's ability to care for her baby safely after consuming so much alcohol than the effect of the milk itself.
I would personally be concerned about smoking pot while PG just because of the fact that anytime you smoke anything you deprive your baby of oxygen (hence the tea/tincture/edible suggestion), but usually when you smoke pot a little goes a long way, so it's not too much of an issue. I also wouldn't smoke in front of my kids, but that's just me--It also bothers me when people talk excessively about booze, as in, "boy, we need some beer" or, "What you need is a drink" in front of them.
I have quite a bit of faith in the breast--it does a great job of filtering out impurities and harmful substances, and *probably* lets through "food substances" more readily, which is IMO why dairy may get through, causing allergies, but you can drink quite a bit of alcohol before enough will get through to affect your child.
All I know for sure is that after four years of nursing, (two years tandem) and (mostly) patiently caring for my kids all day, every day, cocktail hour with friends or the occasional pot induced giggle-fest does WONDERS for my own sense of self, which can get totally lost in the constant demands of my two beautiful, brilliant, BF'ing children. We do need to keep our children's needs first, but can't forget to let our hair down!

[gaffa]

No offense intended to babydoll, but I'm pretty sure by your posts you have never smoked pot, or tried it a couple of times and decided you didn't like . I fully admit I could be way off base.

The loudest protests always seem to come from the folks who have no idea what its really all about. I know a lot of people who have had an occasional toke while pregnant and breastfeeding. It's as reasonable as drinking a couple of beers while nursing. I'm offended by the notion that it's putting your child in danger. Neither of those things is putting your child in danger at all. Using reasonable amounts of these substances is quite beign and healthful for the mental well-being of the mom.

Maybe you don't ever need any of these things, but SOME people do. There has be no conclusive evidence that MJ harms babies, and innumerable women who use MJ while nursing. I would think if there was a problem it would have shown up by now. And as for the woman who smoked cigs and MJ thoughout pregnancy, THAT's completely differetn. That's CHRONICALLY depriving your baby of oxygen and pumping tons of hemicals into your bloodstream ALL DAY This does NOT happen with a couple of puffs, even a daily couple of puffs.


This is not the case with stimulants and downers etc. MJ is TOTALLY different than those things. Those things alter babies heartrates ec. Nursing while doing those things can Kill your child, and if it doesnt't I still assume cause harm.

I totally can not support smoking all day every day while you have a child, but occasional, responsible use is nothing to worry about when all is said and done and all the studies are reviewed.

[sunmountain]

mj dilates blood vessels, it does not contract them like tabacco smoke does. so actually, the baby is getting more oxygen while it's in the blood system, not less.

[tiffani]

mj dilates blood vessels, it does not contract them like tabacco smoke does. so actually, the baby is getting more oxygen while it's in the blood system, not less.

Thanks for the info sunmountain-- always nice to have the facts!

[Ryoko]

I am new to this community but I just wanted to thank all of you for having such a wonderful, mature and informative discussion about this, and for opening up with personal stories. I feel like I can really relate to alot of you, and I feel alot better about myself too. Great thread.