If you were on Google, researching like a madwoman. And landed on this post. Well, lucky you. Seriously. Consider yourself lucky. Because I'm going to be 1000% honest. I'm going to tell you MY ACTUAL experience. And it took place in 2020. So, not only is my experience reliable, more importantly, it's recent.
I wanted to open this post with a disclaimer of sorts because when I was pregnant, and looking for resources on smoking weed while pregnant, I was at a loss.
Every account I came across online was either super dated - sorry, but your experience from 2011 just isn't comforting when I need current laws factored in. OR the story was from a girl's sister's friend's mom's coworker...so, not exactly reliable.
Yes. I smoked while I was pregnant. Marijuana? Yes. Cigarettes? Hell no. Just to clarify. In case you're already chomping at the bit to judge. If you already have a preconceived negative notion of how you feel about this topic, then I suggest you move on.
If you want some fucking real talk, no judgement, then you're in the right place.
First off. I just want to say. My child is an absolute ray of sunshine. And perfect in every way. Just kidding. She shits and screams and spits up just like the best of them. My point being, Delilah is a normal baby in every way. She is healthy. She is smart. She is loud. She is hilarious. And she actually is a little ray of sunshine. And according to her pediatrician, she is advanced.
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| Delilah - 4 months old. |
Guess smoking weed while I was pregnant wasn't as detrimental as the surgeon general and naysayers would have you believe. Mind you, the surgeon general does not have an issue with you being prescribed opioids while pregnant.
So, before I was pregnant, I smoked weed to chill out. To quell anxieties. To zone into a project. To write. To help me sleep. To cure a desperate hangover! Most significantly though, I smoke weed to help keep migraines at bay. I don't get your average migraine. If only mine were relegated to just throbbing pain and throwing up everything...no, I get special migraines - migraines with aura. Aura can be experienced as bright spots in your vision, like stars, but not as alluring as it sounds. My particular experience with aura is half of my body goes numb. Only one side. And it's weird. One of the first discoveries of this was when I sliced through my tongue while I slept. And I had no idea. Because I couldn't feel it. Good times. Yeah. Migraines with aura are a tale for another post.
Basically, weed is not something that has ever held me back. I often prefer it over a cocktail for the simple reason that I have control over my actions and the only aftermath of smoking a good joint is I'm going to sleep really well.
So when I got pregnant, unexpectedly, I felt like I needed to clean up my act for obvious reasons. Wanted to give this babe the best chances. I knew 2 basic things about being pregnant: Don't drink and don't smoke.
First trimester, I suffered. Although migraines had all but disappeared, I was sick to my stomach. So sick. Morning sickness for me lasted all day. And I did what everyone tells you to do. And honestly, it worked pretty well. I would keep boxes of mini saltines at my bedside with a bottle of water. As soon as I woke up feeling nauseous at 3am, I'd stuff my face with saltines and drown myself in water. The trick was just to fill myself up as much as I could with something bland like crackers so I could push through the nauseous feeling and go on with my day. It worked, usually.
Second trimester things changed. Duh. Pregnancy is a fucking trip. Every day is something new. And it's just a game of "Do I go to the hospital for this or don't I?"
My migraines returned. And they returned with a vengeance. This was actually something that had been lightly discussed with my gyno. Sometimes women with migraines get worse and this was something I was concerned about. When a bad migraine hits, I take a cocktail of Rizatriptan (instantly relieves nausea & can help relieve migraine pain), Excedrin Migraine for the pain and a sedative, Promethazine, which calms me down and eases me to sleep.
Pregnant...can't take my usual go-to pharma-cocktail...what the hell am I going to do. I got a second opinion from another gyno who felt that, with the exception of Excederin, it was safe for me to take my usual meds. I felt otherwise. Both of my gynocologists clearly resisted having to give me the okay but felt that if my migraines persisted and were only getting worse, I could take my meds. My main gyno actually recommended I come in for a shot of Dilaudid - an opioid used to treat moderate to severe pain.
And that's where I decided to take matters into my own hands. I loved how my doctors were ready to prescribe opioids to calm my symptoms but somehow, marijuana was taboo. It's laughable really.
In reality, I wasn't able to take any pills because as it was, when a severe migraine hit, I wasn't able to keep down anything. Not food. Not water. And certainly not any pills. I started to lose weight instead of gaining it and the last thing I wanted was to end up hospitalized from malnutrition. I needed to handle my situation the best way possible.
And so towards the middle of my second trimester, I started smoking little bits of weed to stop myself from dry heaving in the mornings from morning sickness. It cured my nausea. Quelled my anxiety which was at an all-time high during my first pregnancy. And it fueled my appetite which was so important! It allowed for me to eat all the things. And I was happy. FINALLY feeling hungry AND being able to keep the food down was literal happiness. Something pills would NOT have accomplished.
And while marijuana didn't always help with a couple of my worst migraines, it definitely helped keep them at bay in general.
My child did not suffer from my smoking small amounts of weed while I was pregnant with her. Although, according to the Kaiser-appointed psychologist I was forcibly paired with while I was pregnant, my child potentially faced any number of issues....
I cannot tell you how annoying it is that Kaiser pairs you up with a psychologist when you get pregnant. She's nosy. She asks you questions that are eye-brow-raising....like, "Do you want this baby?" "Are you happy about being pregnant?" And my favorite assertion of hers, "If you smoke marijuana, you are risking miscarrying and if your baby survives, she's going to probably be deformed or have any number of things wrong with her..."
QUE THE MAJOR FUCKING EYE ROLL.
Her job is to scare the bejesus outa you. Smoke weed while your pregnant and you're risking your babies health! And if you're willing to risk her health, that means you're a bad mother! And if you're a bad mother when does social services step in....
My gyno literally told me in the most casual way, to "lay off of it a little" as I approached my due date. Mainly because I wanted clean breast milk. However, my gyno never at any point tried to disway me from smoking marijuana. I also told her I drank it in tea form. Again, never any reproach from her.
But, per Kaiser bullllllshit rules, my gyno has to inform this psychologist who was younger than me and my husband. Had never been pregnant herself. Didn't have experience with severe migraines or migraines in general. And spoke to us in this silly little voice that one uses when talking to preschoolers. She asked us questions at our first encounter that we found beyond intrusive. For example, where we live and the size of our home and the size of our baby's room is really none of her business. And yet, there we were. What was supposed to be a nice trip to see our baby's anatomy scan tuned into an unscheduled interrogation with a cop, er psychologist.
Take note, Kaiser appoints all pregnancies with a psychologist. Her job is to root around your private business to look for problems to report back to social services. That's what her main job is. However, she masks this by saying she is there for you to provide you with resources for your mental health. If my mental health was at stake, this psychologist would be the last person I'd want to go see. Unrelatable and condescending don't do it for me, Kaiser.
This psychologist gave me all the bad vibes. Besides making me feel like I was a bad mom for consuming small amounts of marijuana, she had me under the impression that I HAD to see her for scheduled appointments to check on my mental health, and basically her taking notes to hand over toooo, to who? Who exactly? Enough was enough. No one can force you to see a doctor when there is no need, as I finally decided to confirm with my gynecologist.
Literally an email was sent after a family pow-wow. My husband was pissed and so were my parents. All of whom were on board with me smoking weed over taking opioids during a pregnancy.
My gynecologist was quick to respond to my email and assuage concerns.
I was not a case that would be of any interest to social services. We live in CALIFORNIA. Marijuana is legal HERE. And that changes everything. The small amounts I was smoking were of no interest to her and she assured me it was really of no concern to the psychologist either. Psychologists are looking for more deep-set issues. Domestic abuse. Alcohol abuse. Drug abuse such as prescription pills, cocaine, heroin. Fucking serious stuff. Marijuana doesn't fit the bill in California anymore. NOT so for other states ladies. So, DO YOUR HOMEWORK.
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| 39 weeks pregnant & ready to pop! |
In the end, I basically told the appointed psychologist to go kick rocks. For real. She tried to push appointments on me in order to "educate me" on the effects of marijuana. Mmmmhmmm...someone who had never smoked herself, guaranteed. And her only knowledge of it is what the surgeon general recommends. Another person who's only interaction with marijuana is what someone else has told him is "fact."
And while my doctor doesn't openly condone usage, because she legally cannot, she also doesn't deny its benefits. Keep in mind, I stopped smoking weed into my 3rd trimester to ensure clean breast milk.
So, in a nutshell:
Did I face any legal repercussions for ingesting marijuana? NO.
Was I tested at any point during labor & delivery? NO clue. Doubtful.
Was my baby tested? Again, NO clue. But I doubt it.
Was there any threat of having my child removed from me at birth? Hell NO.
Did the nurses ask about drug use? OF COURSE.
Did I answer them truthfully every time? ABSOLUTELY.
Did any of the nurses care when I said I smoked weed, drank infused tea? NOPE.
Was my baby born without complications? Yes.
Any complications since birth? Not at all.
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| Anatomy scan looking perfect. |
I sincerely hope this answers some questions! Keep in mind my account is from that of a Kaiser member. And that's generally how it goes across the board for Kaiser in California. They drug test everyone, no matter what. They test your urine and they don't tell you. When they send you to the lab for all sorts or preggo testing, marijuana is definitely one of the tests.
They test specifically for marijuana because its usage among pregnant women is on the rise. More women than you think are resorting to marijuana to ease pregnancy woes because it actually works to ease more than just one symptom. Curing nausea while calming your evermore anxious mind and giving your appetite a boost...it's only a matter of time before they finally stop giving mothers shit over using it.
If you have any questions, leave them here at the bottom and I'll definitely try to answer you to the best of my own knowledge and experience. I promise it's firsthand, not I heard from a friend of a friend kinda crap.
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| Labor & Delivery - March 24, 2020. |
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