Dear Lactnet Friends: Thank you Debbie for sharing these abstracts. The one about THC staying in breast milk is annoying, because it will reinforce value-based practice. Just because THC is present in the body does not mean the person is intoxicated. This is the huge flaw in testing for THC; a person ingests a THC compound, is intoxicated for a while.....and then the intoxication passes. But the THC can show up in a test in the body for up to a month after the one-time use, depending on one's metabolism and body fat. While no one encourages smoking ANYTHING in pregnancy, the research does not often distinguish between edible and smoked varieties of THC. When one examines the impact of smoking tobacco in pregnancy on babies, that impact is similar to the impact of smoking cannabis in pregnancy on the babies. So is it the substance or the smoking that is the problem? Research tells that smoking reduces placental blood flow. Based on the research, the use of antibiotics in labor is far more compromising to future health of the infant than THC in breast milk. More studies are being published about the gut microbiome and its impact on autoimmune disease, autism and obesity. Here's the latest: "In many resource-poor countries, bifidobacteria are the dominant fecal microbes in breastfed infants (1–3), whereas in resource-rich countries there is marked variability, with some studies showing low numbers of fecal bifidobacteria among breastfed infants (4–6). Infant delivery mode, diet, and maternal fecal bifidobacteria influence infant colonization with bifidobacteria. Decreased numbers of intestinal bifidobacteria have clinical relevance, based on a large body of evidence that intestinal dysbiosis early in life predisposes to inflammation, and increases risks for obesity, atopic and allergic diseases, inflammatory bowel disease (7–9), and diabetes mellitus (types 1 and 2) (6, 10). It is not likely coincidental that dysbiosis-associated diseases are markedly less common in resource-poor countries." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5717325/pdf/mSphere.00501-17.pdf My point is that the research showing that THC in breastmilk is harmful to the infant has not yet been found. From LACTMED: "Because of insufficient long-term data on the outcome of infants exposed to cannabis via breastmilk, health professionals' opinions on the acceptability of breastfeeding by cannabis-using mothers varies. In general, professional guidelines recommend that cannabis use should be avoided by nursing mothers, and nursing mothers should be informed of possible adverse effects on infant development from exposure to cannabis compounds in breastmilk. In addition to possible adverse effects from cannabinoids in breastmilk, paternal cannabis use may also increase the risk of sudden infant death syndrome in breastfed infants. Cannabis should not be smoked by anyone in the vicinity of infants because the infants may be exposed by inhaling the smoke.[6 <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK501587/#>-9 <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK501587/#>]" The research showing that the impact of delivery practices (i.e. cesarean section), formula feeding, and use of antibiotics on the infant gut microbiome (and future health) is growing. Shouldn't the public be made aware of the dangers of routine cesarean section (31% in the US today), formula use, and routine antibiotics? warmly, -- Nikki Lee RN, BSN, Mother of 2, MS, IBCLC, CCE, CIMI, ANLC, CKC, RYT www.nikkileehealth.com Pronouns: she/her/hers *Communications are confidential and meant only for whom they are addressed.* *********************************************** Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html To reach list owners: [log in to unmask] Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask] COMMANDS: 1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail 2. To start it again: set lactnet mail 3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet 4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome