Cannabis use in pregnancy may alter offspring’s brain structure

Children born to mothers who use cannabis during pregnancy are more likely to have an abnormal brain structure, which may have long-term consequences for mental health.his is the conclusion of a new study published in the journal Biological Psychiatry, led by Dr. Hanan El Marroun, of Erasmus University Medical Center in the Netherlands.  According to the researchers, around 2-13 percent of women worldwide use cannabis during pregnancy.  Previous research has suggested that expectant mothers who use the drug are more likely to have children with behavioral and mental health problems.  Exactly how cannabis use affects the brain structure of offspring, however, has been unclear, and this is what Dr. El Marroun and colleagues set out to investigate.