Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34930765›Full record

ArticleCMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne2021

Reasons for cannabis use during pregnancy and lactation: a qualitative study.

Meredith Vanstone, Shipra Taneja, Anuoluwa Popoola, Janelle Panday, Devon Greyson, Robin Lennox, Sarah D McDonald

Erratum issuedAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 59 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
59citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

59 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

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  13. Cannabis Use Transitions During Early Pregnancy.Cannabis (Albuquerque, N.M.) · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Meredith VanstoneDepartment of Family Medicine (Vanstone, Taneja, Popoola, Panday, Lennox), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; Department of Communication (Greyson), University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Mass.; School of Population and Public Health (Greyson), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC; Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Radiology and Health Research Methods, Evidence & Impact (McDonald), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont. vanstomg@mcmaster.ca.
Shipra TanejaDepartment of Family Medicine (Vanstone, Taneja, Popoola, Panday, Lennox), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; Department of Communication (Greyson), University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Mass.; School of Population and Public Health (Greyson), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC; Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Radiology and Health Research Methods, Evidence & Impact (McDonald), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.
Anuoluwa PopoolaDepartment of Family Medicine (Vanstone, Taneja, Popoola, Panday, Lennox), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; Department of Communication (Greyson), University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Mass.; School of Population and Public Health (Greyson), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC; Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Radiology and Health Research Methods, Evidence & Impact (McDonald), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.
Janelle PandayDepartment of Family Medicine (Vanstone, Taneja, Popoola, Panday, Lennox), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; Department of Communication (Greyson), University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Mass.; School of Population and Public Health (Greyson), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC; Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Radiology and Health Research Methods, Evidence & Impact (McDonald), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.
Devon GreysonDepartment of Family Medicine (Vanstone, Taneja, Popoola, Panday, Lennox), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; Department of Communication (Greyson), University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Mass.; School of Population and Public Health (Greyson), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC; Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Radiology and Health Research Methods, Evidence & Impact (McDonald), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.
Robin LennoxDepartment of Family Medicine (Vanstone, Taneja, Popoola, Panday, Lennox), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; Department of Communication (Greyson), University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Mass.; School of Population and Public Health (Greyson), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC; Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Radiology and Health Research Methods, Evidence & Impact (McDonald), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.
Sarah D McDonaldDepartment of Family Medicine (Vanstone, Taneja, Popoola, Panday, Lennox), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; Department of Communication (Greyson), University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Mass.; School of Population and Public Health (Greyson), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC; Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Radiology and Health Research Methods, Evidence & Impact (McDonald), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.

Funding

CIHR FRN 167972
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCannabis use among pregnant and lactating people is increasing, despite clinical evidence showing that cannabis use may be associated with low birth weight and childhood developmental deficits. Our objective was to understand why pregnant and lactating people use cannabis and how these motivations change across perinatal stages.

methodsUsing qualitative, constructivist grounded theory methodology, we conducted telephone and virtual interviews with 52 individuals from across Canada. We selected participants using maximum variation and theoretical sampling. They were eligible if they had been pregnant or lactating within the past year and had decided to continue, cease or decrease their cannabis use during the perinatal period.

resultsWe identified 3 categories of reasons that people use cannabis during pregnancy and lactation: sensation-seeking for fun and enjoyment; symptom management of chronic conditions and conditions related to pregnancy; and coping with the unpleasant, but nonpathologized, experiences of life. Before pregnancy, participants endorsed reasons for using cannabis in these 3 categories in similar proportions, with many offering multiple reasons for use. During pregnancy, reasons for use shifted primarily to symptom management. During lactation, reasons returned to resemble those expressed before pregnancy.

interpretationIn this study, we showed that pregnant and lactating people use cannabis for many reasons, particularly for symptom management. Reasons for cannabis use changed across reproductive stages. The dynamic nature of the reasons for use across stages speaks to participant perception of benefits and risks, and perhaps a desire to cast cannabis use during pregnancy as therapeutic because of perceived stigma.

Indexed as

CannabisLactationAdultCanadaFemaleGrounded TheoryHumansInterviews as TopicPregnancyQualitative Research

Identifiers

PMID34930765
PMCPMC8687504

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.