Correlates and Consequences of Prenatal Cannabis Exposure (PCE) Identifying and Characterizing Vulnerable Maternal Populations and Determining Outcomes for Exposed Offspring
Cannabis is the illicit drug that is most abused during pregnancy worldwide, resulting in prenatal exposure rates of 5 15% of the total population. Many challenges exist in detecting prenatal cannabis exposure (PCE) in the obstetric patient population, in understanding the motivation to use cannabis during pregnancy, and in determining the effects of PCE on offspring. This chapter summarizes the scientific literature regarding the prevalence of PCE, and the detection methods used to estimate exposure prevalence. The characteristics of pregnant women who are most vulnerable to using cannabis are also described. Finally, the effects of PCE on the childhood course of physical, neurological, cognitive, behavioral, and emotional development are discussed. The purpose of the current chapter is to inform readers about the potentially negative impact of PCE at both the individual and societal level, by providing reliable, scientifically valid, peer reviewed information on this controversial subject.