Conclusion
There is a growing body of evidence about the perspectives of pregnant people on cannabis use in pregnancy, but this literature does not yet include the perspectives of their partners, or perspectives about the use of cannabis during lactation. Many studies do not acknowledge that there are specific reasons that people choose to use cannabis during pregnancy, and a host of perceived benefits to this use. This gap may reflect the influence of the researcher’s assumptions about cannabis use on the study design of existing evidence. As cannabis use rates rise in many jurisdictions following legalization, additional research on the ways and reasons that people use cannabis during the perinatal period is necessary to encourage informed decisions that reduce risk to pregnant people and their future children.
Acknowledgments: Caroline Higgins designed and conducted the literature search. Meera Mahmud assisted with critical appraisal.
Disclosure of Interests : There are no conflicts to declare.
Contribution to Authorship: MV, SM, MB, BMD, ED secured funding. MV, SM, DG, SM, RP, MB, BMD, ED designed the study. MV, JP, AP, ST collected data. MV, JP, AP, ST led analysis, with contributions from SM, DG, SM, RP, MB, BMD, ED. MV drafted the manuscript, which was critically revised by JP, AP, ST, DG, SM, RP, MB, BMD, ED. All authors approved the final version to be submitted and agree to be accountable for the content.
Ethical Approval: All data were in the public domain so ethical approval was not required.
Funding: This study was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, who had no role in the design, conduct, or reporting of the research.