More pregnant women in California report using marijuana than a decade ago

Using marijuana during pregnancy has been linked to lower birth weight as well as worse neurological outcomes in the fetus, but a new study finds that more pregnant women may be using the substance. Researchers surveyed nearly 370,000 women between 2009 and 2017 in Kaiser Permanente's  Northern California system and found that nearly twice as many women in 2017 reported using marijuana in the year before pregnancy compared to 2009. Some 2% of women in 2009 reported using marijuana during pregnancy, while that figure was nearly 3.4% in 2017. Daily, weekly and monthly use also increased. The researchers suggest that these trends may be due to growing acceptance of marijuana in the U.S., but that more research is still needed to assess the impact of using the substance on a growing fetus.