Gunn Rachel L, Aston Elizabeth R, Artis Lia, Nesi Jacqueline, Pedersen Eric R, Micalizzi Lauren
Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, School of Public Health, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States.
Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, United States.
Front Psychiatry. 2024 Dec 10;15:1478505. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1478505. eCollection 2024.
Rates of prenatal cannabis use (PCU) have increased in recent years. Despite evidence of developmental health consequences to offspring and birthing person, there has been a reduction in the perception of PCU-related harms. Due to the stigma and risk of legal consequences associated with disclosing PCU, individuals are often cautious to seek information from their healthcare providers. Thus, pregnant people are more likely to seek information from anonymous sources, such as online support forums. Information garnered from these anonymous online forums can shed light on the patterns and motives for cannabis use among this population. These insights can help to better inform prevention efforts aimed at reducing potential harms of PCU and improve intervention efforts.
Posts (N = 120) from an online pro-cannabis pregnancy forum called "Ganja Mamas" on WhattoExpect.com were randomly selected and analyzed if they covered topics related to PCU. A qualitative coding structure based on the existing PCU literature was created and refined to include other emergent topics. The coding structure was used to apply thematic analysis to posts; associated codes were grouped into themes. Codes specific to symptom management for physical and mental health were subsequently subjected to further conceptual analysis for the current study.
Four themes related to symptom management during pregnancy were identified: 1) cannabis use and impacts of use for a variety of mental health symptoms, including depression and anxiety; 2) cannabis use for physical health symptoms and conditions, such as nausea and pain; 3) use of cannabis to achieve homeostasis and manage stress; 4) decision-making about using cannabis for symptom management, such as using cannabis instead of prescription medications. Most discussions in this pro-cannabis forum reflected perceptions that cannabis was effective in treating the conditions for which it was used; however, limitations of cannabis' efficacy were also mentioned.
There is need for reduced stigma and open communication between pregnant persons who use cannabis and their providers in discussing how to manage their mental and physical health symptoms. Understanding the various symptoms for which individuals use cannabis during pregnancy to self-treat can inform these conversations and the expansion of harm reduction strategies.
近年来，产前大麻使用（PCU）率有所上升。尽管有证据表明大麻使用会对后代和分娩者的健康发育产生影响，但人们对与PCU相关危害的认知却有所下降。由于披露PCU存在耻辱感和法律后果风险，个人往往谨慎地向医疗服务提供者寻求信息。因此，孕妇更有可能从匿名来源获取信息，如在线支持论坛。从这些匿名在线论坛收集的信息可以揭示该人群中大麻使用的模式和动机。这些见解有助于更好地为旨在减少PCU潜在危害的预防工作提供信息，并改进干预措施。
从WhattoExpect.com上一个名为“大麻妈妈”的支持大麻的在线怀孕论坛中随机选取帖子（N = 120），如果帖子涉及与PCU相关的主题，则进行分析。基于现有的PCU文献创建并完善了一个定性编码结构，以纳入其他新出现的主题。该编码结构用于对帖子进行主题分析；相关代码被分组为主题。随后，针对本研究，对特定于身心健康症状管理的代码进行了进一步的概念分析。
确定了与孕期症状管理相关的四个主题：1）大麻使用及其对包括抑郁和焦虑在内的各种心理健康症状的影响；2）大麻用于身体健康症状和疾病，如恶心和疼痛；3）使用大麻来实现体内平衡和管理压力；4）关于使用大麻进行症状管理的决策，如使用大麻而非处方药。这个支持大麻的论坛中的大多数讨论都反映了这样一种看法，即大麻在治疗其使用目的的病症方面是有效的；然而，也提到了大麻功效的局限性。
有必要减少耻辱感，并促进使用大麻的孕妇与其医疗服务提供者之间就如何管理其身心健康症状进行开放沟通。了解个人在孕期使用大麻进行自我治疗的各种症状，可以为这些对话以及减少危害策略的扩展提供信息。
