The Cannamom Roundtable Is Back
Let’s Dig Into Cannabis Use and Fertility, Pregnancy, Conception, and Postpartum
Shonitria: Hey, Welcome to the Blunt Blowin’ Momma podcast. I am your host, Shonitria.
This is the first Canna Mom roundtable. We're going to talk about fertility, pregnancy, conception, and postpartum.
Now, introductions. Let's start with Tammy.
Tammy: I’m your girl Tammy, aka the Cannabis Cutie. I am an educator and an advocate in the cannabis space. I'm also a mom of two.
Amber: I’m Amber, aka from Carpools to Cocktails. I am a creative director, freelance writer, and product photographer. I have two kids.
Renee: I’m Renee. I am half of Puff & Parlay. I am a mother of two kids. I'm here to advocate for cannabis. It's definitely helped me on my journey, and I’m excited to share it with you guys.
CeCe: Hey, everybody, I am Cece. I'm the other half of Puff & Parlay. I have an eight year old son. I had him at 40. I was into my career.
And of course having a child at 40 years old and the very first time was quite scarring. And yeah, cannabis has kind of helped me relax a little bit.
Shonitria: We are at such different stages of our motherhood journey. As you guys know, my kids are eight and four. My oldest is a girl. She's eight, and my son is four.
So we're gonna talk a little bit about your life before kids. What role did cannabis play in your life before you had children? And did you ever feel it would harm your fertility or chances of conception?
Tammy: I took a really amazing course by Dr. Michelle Ross on motherhood and cannabis. She's landed on the right neuroscientists. And I actually learned in her course that the endocannabinoid system (ECS) in our body that communicates with cannabis promotes balance in the body.
The ECS also rules fertility. So cannabis consumption can actually affect fertility. But what they noticed was that it was in women who used it inconsistently.
During certain parts of your cycle, you need more THC or more CBD and that just depends on the implantation phase.
I don't remember the data or any of the studies off the top of my head at the moment. But it absolutely can affect your fertility in positive ways as well. Something that we have to remember.
Amber: For me, I was a party girl, and I own that. I was having a good ass time. Which is clearly how I got into this situation!
We love our kids, but also we didn't know what we were signing up for.
It never occurred to me that I could or couldn't get pregnant. And it's funny because my dad is a retired OB GYN. So I can ask him any kind of question.
And he said the number one thing he tells women that are trying to get pregnant is to relax and stop thinking about it.
So it was my second time trying for a kid. I decided that I'm just gonna relax. I'm not planning this. I'm not thinking about this. I'm gonna get fucking stoned. Like, I'm gonna have the time of my life.
And then literally, three weeks later, I’m trying to pull my hair out. And I went to pee. And I decided to take a test. And there I was.
Renee: In my situation, I was just consuming recreationally. I didn't really see the benefits of cannabis or actually tune in until after I had my kids. But if we want a child and it’s forced, our body really does react to that.
Amber: That’s what happened with me. I think it was forced. That's why it took two years to get pregnant. It was just so stressful.
Along with this cannabis journey that we've been on with Puff & Parlay, you start to find that you have your own stigmas to break in your mind, especially my generation.
I know a lot of people my age that still hide their attempts. When I was trying, I gave up everything, I even went vegan.
It was really stressful. And looking back and knowing what I know now, the education that has been dropped on me in the last like four or five years, I just wish I had known.
So, yes, cannabis use might help with fertility and that isn’t for everybody, and I understand the worries and the concerns—but when you're trying, it feels like it's your last chance.
I really think that it would ease the situation for both partners, though. The man gets stressed after a while, too.
Tammy: I smoked on Halloween. I got pregnant with both children and was not trying to get pregnant at all, as a married woman.
Being a mom is great, but I had ideas of a career and so much more before I had kids, and I was baked when I had sex. I'm pretty sure I was baked when implantation happened. It was just a part of my life.
I was just newly exposed to the plant with my first pregnancy, and I was fully in advocacy mode unconsciously. So cannabis was a part of my life and became a part of my identity.
So if women are worried that cannabis consumption will affect your ability to get pregnant, I think what every woman has said here today is that it's your state of mind.
Shonitria: So, what ways did you guys use cannabis during pregnancy? What were your trusted products and brands?
I know that you all have multiple kids. And as we all know, the first pregnancy is not like the second pregnancy or the subsequent ones right?
The first time, you're super cautious. And then I started Blowin’ Blunt Momma, and I started talking to all these moms who were like, “Girl, I smoked weed the whole pregnancy. I took a bong rip before I went into the hospital and had my baby.”
I'm like, “You guys are taking bong rips before going in?” Can we do that?”
So what did it look like for you guys? Like how were you consuming cannabis during pregnancy?
Tammy: For the first pregnancy, I did smoke once because I had terrible morning sickness. And in my first trimester.
They don't tell you this in the movies. You lose weight because you can't eat. I could not eat and was miserable. So I did consume that one time to eat.
Shonitria: Did you feel guilty?
Tammy: I felt terrible. But I also felt relaxed and could eat comfortably.
I was 21 and in my junior year in college. I had the internship of my life. Everything was going straight up. I was set and then I was pregnant. I was so depressed. So that once or twice that I consumed was amazing.
Shonitria: I want to hear from Amber and then Cece. Why did you guys decide not to consume during pregnancy?
Amber: Because I was hella young. I was in my 20s, had just had my 22nd birthday.
And there was nothing, no information or anything about whether it's safe. And like I said, my dad is an OB GYN. So I already know that they're gonna test everything.
And he said that if you’re a black woman in the south, do not fuck around and do anything dumb.
But I remember coming back here to California for Christmas. And we were going to dinner with some friends. And they were hotboxing in the car in front of us. And when we got out and we parked, I was like, “Oh my god, you guys smell amazing.”
And I was like, “Can I just sit in the car for five minutes?” And my husband was like, “No, are you fucking crazy?” They wouldn't even let me smell.
And all I wanted to do was be around it. My friends were smoking, and I would just sit in the middle of it. So, technically, I wasn't consuming but I was around it.
But I also didn't like the smell of it in the beginning because I was so sick and everything made me nauseous. But it was just one of those things where I was like, “No, I can't do this. I can't do this. I already have my own stigma because I'm young. I'm not married, and I'm a black woman in the South.”
So to combat that I decided that I was gonna be this perfect model.
I remember that I could not wait until this baby was born because I just wanted to smoke a blunt with my friends.
You know, you don't have that connection with yourself in the same way. Because we all use weed as a ritual, right? And I feel like we use it to reconnect with our own self whether we know it or not.
Shonitria: Cece, what about you? Why did you decide to not consume?
Cece: When I was trying, I felt like it was my chance. It took forever. And if I could’ve bubble wrapped myself, I would’ve.
I wasn’t taking any chances. I stopped working every day.
I was gonna be 40 and they make you go through extra stuff because you have a higher chance of miscarrying.
And so with weed, I felt I needed to but didn’t. If I did it again, I probably would have. Would be way less of a struggle for sleeping. I had a lot of trouble sleeping.
But there are so many women that smoke and don't want anybody else to know. And there's so many more women that actually smoke throughout their pregnancy and you see their kids and their kids are fine.
Shonitria: I often say that a lot of moms who use cannabis during pregnancy say that their kid is a genius, skipping grades and stuff. I'm like, “Who are these superhuman babies?”
On hearing that I was like, “These women can't all be lying!” And if these babies do have disabilities or whatever that may be, I don't think it was cannabis that caused them.
With my son, I smoked weed a little bit in the first trimester when I was pregnant with him. And then I had an edible that went really bad at the beginning of my third trimester.
And I was like, “Oh my God, was the dose too high?” I didn't know, it was a shit show. I thought I was gonna die. And I was so pregnant.
Those of you who did use cannabis during pregnancy, what did you use? And what did you trust? And who did you talk to about it?
Tammy: I made sure not to consume any smoke with my son.
And then I consumed within reasonable parameters when I knew I wasn't gonna get any testing.
I stopped at seven months. And I think I started at about three months. I wanted to hit the second trimester because my son was so heavy. He was so dense, my poor little body.
And carrying him was so taxing on my body. I felt like I was running, but I was sitting down and just sweating profusely, body burning, like I needed to get off the treadmill.
So I consumed cannabis like a volcano. I kept it to the chest, and I knew my husband at the time and really close family knew about it.
I took Tylenol PM every day to sleep when I was pregnant with my daughter. Now there are these reports that are coming out about Tylenol PM and how dangerous it is.
There's no correlation with that and cannabis. When I was pregnant with my son, I was not using Tylenol PM. I was using cannabis.
Shonitria: And like your son, he is very intelligent. He's awkward, but I think that's just because he's really smart. He doesn’t have the same energy as children his age.
Shonitria: Tammy, I love that you said you didn't inhale smoke. And I want a lot of moms to hear that.
Nobody's judging you. What you're doing is what you have to do to take care of yourself and to enjoy this pregnancy.
So by all means, we want you to consume cannabis, but there are better ways to access this plant and get the benefits during pregnancy that don't involve smoke.
I shouldn't be smoking weed when pregnant the same way I'd be smoking when I'm not pregnant. There are better ways. A vaporizer for example. It's discreet, easy to use, not a lot of smell.
Tammy: Yeah, because you can control the temperature and also make sure to only consume to the point that you need it.
So I'm not trying to get super baked just for the heck of it. My back hurts, my feet hurt, I can't sleep, I'm uncomfortable, and I'm only four months into my pregnancy. I just want a little relief.
I went to my ex husband's work and one of his co-workers was like “Oh, you look like you're due any day now!” I was at month four.
I was big for no reason. So, for me, it was all about the minimum amount that I needed to feel comfortable and relaxed.
Shonitria: Exactly. And guys, don't underestimate the benefits of a good topical. Like Tammy, I had big ass kids. One was a cannababy and one was not, but let me tell you something, they were the same weight.
So don't let people tell you that because you smoke weed your baby's gonna be a small size because I can confirm that's not true. My kids were both nine pounds and one ounce.
But, I was happier carrying that nine pound one ounce, because I had my topicals that I slathered on the outside of my body. I was putting on some of that good CBD.
Cece: I have a narrow pelvis, and I was told that when you get pregnant, your pelvis expands.
First of all, they don't tell you any of that. So I woke up thinking that I'm dying. And I call my doctor and she's this wonderful black woman. She said, “Oh baby, no, no, no, your pelvis is just expanding. You're good.”
But if I had had a topical, I can't even imagine the difference that would’ve made.
Shonitria: If I get pregnant again, I'm going to take CBD baths from the moment I find out.
I'm pregnant and it’s my body. So much of what's hard on pregnancy is in your muscles, and if you're able to soak and get rid of that inflammation and let all those essential oils into your body and just relax, that body will probably be bopping around like Rihanna.
I do think that cannabis helps you lean into pregnancy. Instead of fighting against it or being stressed about it, cannabis helps you be present and aware during this time.
And that’s good because guess what? There’s no re-do’s!
Tammy: For women that are curious about it, but they don't want THC in their system, THCA is a really good way to do it.
You can make cannabis tea that's not going to get you intoxicated because that cannabinoid is not going to cross over into the placenta. It just can't. So that's one way.
And that’s the Jamaican tea that the women would drink back in the 70s. They did a study on it and there was no conclusive data that it affected the children in a negative way.
And THC tea was something that they would do. So that's something to consider.
You don't necessarily need to combust cannabis. You can add it to a smoothie, put it in your juicer, and so on.
Shonitria: So what about CPS? What about the Department of Family and Child Services?
I'm black. I look young. I am young, but I probably look even younger to them. So they're gonna be like young black.
Everybody should get decency and respect when they go see any kind of health and medical professional, but that doesn't always happen.
So I always tell moms, there are red flags, like if you're black or you don't have private insurance or are low income.
Unfortunately, you walk in and you're black or brown, that's a red flag. If you walk in and your low income, that’s a red flag. They're gonna say you’re a drug user and you're gonna have a lot of problems.
They’re gonna make sure pregnancy is not easy and joyful.
I always tell people to stop consuming at the third trimester. It fucking sucks, but if you live in Alabama or Georgia, stop it at the third trimester. Don't tell any fucking body.
Tammy: Don't even talk about it on those baby apps.
I mean, you can smoke, especially if you know your intention. Now if you're one of those women who is just doing it to do it, you might need to check that behavior. That could be a setback.
That's something that maybe we need to go explore in therapy. But if you have good intentions, do it.
And for me, I was scared for sure. Because taking kids away is a reality for our community. We see people take children from families for nothing.
And then CPS returns the kid, but it has wrecked the family for sure. Whatever harm you were trying to protect the kids from is harm you ended up creating.
So that's a fear that I have, especially for women of color.
Women who have low socioeconomic status are more likely to consume drugs during their pregnancy. Is it because of their circumstances? Absolutely.
But smoking is something that CPS is going to look at. And I don't know, maybe for me, because I had degrees and because I’m married, I'm not a red flag. Maybe I had that privilege.
Amber: I just remember my first OB GYN asking as they're doing the intake form if I smoke. I said, “Not cigarettes.”
And I was not looking at her, I was looking everywhere else. And she paused and said, “Noted.” She then kept it pushing.
And even with my last one, like God bless her, she was amazing. But I said the exact same thing, and I looked her dead in her eye and she was like, “Okay,” and we were good.
Like Tammy said, you're a black woman in the world, so it does not matter how educated you are.
And the way that things are now, it's even worse. So to other moms that are out there, I say be careful with yourself, and tell whomever if you trust them.
But also know that you should only tell, like, two people so it can't get beyond that circle.
The number one thing is to find a doctor you can trust. I know that’s hard, but the number one thing that can help a woman go through her pregnancy is having a medical professional that you trust—whether it's a doctor, a doula, a midwife, or whatever.
Because you need to find someone you’re comfortable with saying, “I am in the most pain ever, like, is there a tea, a tincture, or something that I can drink?”
Because I remember when I was pregnant with my daughter, people told me that I couldn’t even have tea because it's got caffeine in it.
And I just decided…..I already can't have coffee, I can't drink alcohol, and I'm not smoking weed. I'm not giving up tea!
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