Culture

More Women are Smoking Marijuana During Pregnancy: Report

But fewer are smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol while expecting.

November 7, 2018 5:00 am EST

Pregnant woman are using marijuana, according to a new report.

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More and more women are smoking marijuana during their pregnancies, a new report found.

The annual study, the National Survey of Drug Use and Health, found that between 2002 and 2016, the percentage of women who reported smoking marijuana during pregnancy — while still rare — rose from 3% to about 5%.

Out of the 12,000 women who responded to the poll, about 3,500 of them were in their first trimester, Time reported, a crucial time for fetal development.

The uptick was attributed to the lax general sentiment concerning pot. Medical marijuana is now legal in most U.S. states, the magazine notes, and recreational use is OK in nine.