Canadian resources on cannabis use and fertility, pregnancy, and lactation: A Scoping Review (Preprint)

Abstract

Cannabis use among reproductive-aged Canadians is increasing, but our understanding of its impacts on fertility, pregnancy, and breastmilk is still evolving. Despite the availability of many online resources, informed-decision making and patient counselling are challenging for expectant families and providers alike.

To conduct a scoping review of publicly available online Canadian resources providing information on the effects of cannabis on fertility, pregnancy, and breastmilk.

We systematically searched eight databases between 1-Jan-2010 and 30-Nov-2020 and webpages of 71 Canadian obstetrical, government, and public health organizations. English resources discussing the effects of cannabis on fertility, pregnancy, breastfeeding, or the exposed fetus/infant were included. Epidemiological characteristics, readability, and content information were extracted and summarized.

A total of 183 met our inclusion criteria. Resources included content for public audiences (89.1%) and healthcare providers (n=31, 16.9%). The majority (68.3%) were written at a 10+ reading-grade level, and few (3.8%) were available in languages other than English or French. Common themes included citing a need for more research into the effects of cannabis on reproductive health and recommending that patients avoid or discontinue use. Although resources for providers were consistent in recommending patient counselling, resources targeting the public were less likely to encourage seeking advice from healthcare providers (n=23, 14.1%).

Canadian resources consistently identify that there is no known safe amount of cannabis that can be consumed in the context of fertility, pregnancy, and breastfeeding. Areas of improvement include increasing readability, language accessibility, and encouraging bidirectional communication between healthcare providers and patients.

RR2-10.1136/bmjopen-2020-045006