Pregnancy & Baby Index: Baby Health: Smoking marijuana while breastfeeding
Smoking marijuana while breastfeeding
Heather Kelly, IBCLC
Need some advice? Ask our experts here.
Question: If someone smokes marijuana while breastfeeding, what can happen to
the baby? are they put at risk of anything dangerous? - J.C.
Answer: Dear J.C.,
Marijuana, aside from being illegal in this country, is
contraindicated -- considered inadvisable --during breastfeeding.
Leading medical authority Dr. Thomas Hale, PhD, author of
Medications and Mothers' Milk places marijuana in the highest risk
category. Marijuana is rapidly distributed to brain and fat tissue
and is stored in the body for long periods of time, making it unsafe
for baby.
Mothers who use marijuana while nursing can have eight times as much
marijuana accumulation in breastmilk as compared to their own blood.
Additionally, infants exposed to marijuana via breastmilk can test
positive in urine screens for up to 2-3 weeks.