Using marijuana during pregnancy increases the chances of the baby later being diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder by as much as 50 percent, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Medicine.
As NBC News reported, the study looked at the data from half a million pregnancies in Canada, among children who were born between 2007 and 2012, which was before cannabis became legal for recreational use in the country. Specifically, the study’s authors looked at 503,065 children, of whom 3,148 had mothers who used cannabis while pregnant.
Among the kids, 7,125 were later diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Within that group, 1.4 percent had mothers who did not use marijuana while they were pregnant, while 2.2 percent did.
Once the researchers ruled out other factors that could muddle the results, they concluded that the risk of autism was increased by 50 percent when mothers used cannabis during pregnancy.
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