The use of cannabis during pregnancy could adversely affect the development of a fetus’ brain and likely hinders the healthy growth of the testes in male babies, according to recent studies.
Women sometimes use cannabis or CBD, a nonpsychoactive component of marijuana, during pregnancy to help deal with anxiety and nausea. In a study published July 11 in Molecular Psychiatry, researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus investigated how CBD affects a fetus’ brain development by using mice for test purposes.
Pregnant mice were given CBD during their pregnancy through birth.
Researchers found that fetal exposure to CBD reduced the ability of the mice’s prefrontal cortex—a region in the brain crucial for learning—to be readily roused into action….