Is CBD Safe During Pregnancy? Uncovering the Facts and Risks

Posted by Kayla Moon on Jan 13th 2024

Is CBD Safe During Pregnancy?

Happy Trails opened in June of 2018, when I was 7 months pregnant with my first child. Education was always my priority to ensure a healthy pregnancy, and now that I am pregnant again (with twins at that!) I seem to be getting this question a lot: Is CBD safe during pregnancy? Although we can’t make any medical claims, we can give you insight into the education we have acquired and share some personal experiences so you can make an informed decision for yourself. Let’s get to it!

Quality Matters

There are plenty of retailers that carry what we would call non-therapeutic grade CBD products (low quality CBD products that may be grown with pesticides or combined with toxic filler ingredients. These products often include falsifications on their labels). I became hyper-aware of what I was putting into my body once I became pregnant. I only wanted the best for my growing baby, so I steered clear of these products from the start.

Once we learned that there are companies that develop premium/therapeutic grade CBD products that are thoroughly tested by third-party labs, my husband Jason and I knew that we would never compromise on quality when it came to the products that we sell in our stores. In other words, all of our products are third-party tested by labs that are familiar with testing cannabis products and pride themselves on self-regulation, while implementing consistent standard operating procedures. It’s important to understand not all CBD is the same.

Anyways, back to the topic at hand…

If you recall from CBD 101: The Science Behind CBD, CBD is a phytocannabinoid that is found in abundance in most strains of hemp. Before we look at introducing phytocannabinoids like CBD to a pregnant mother, let’s consider the endocannabinoid system and the critical role it plays in creating new life. It turns out that our endocannabinoids, those our bodies create on their own, are essential to fertilization, growth of the fetus and survival of a newborn! [1]

CBD’s Role in Fetal Development

When it comes to the nervous system of the growing fetus, the endocannabinoid system is responsible for neuronal development by regulating stem cell differentiation and by guiding axonal migration and synaptogenesis (ie. making the right connections). [4] Another example of the importance of the endocannabinoid system is seen in suckling initiation in the newborn. Suckling, what a baby does when he latches on to the mother’s breast to drink milk, which is critical to survival, is stimulated by activation of the CB1 receptors in the neonatal brain. [5]

CBD Can Help Boost Your Body’s Ability to Create Endocannabinoids

The effects CBD has on the endocannabinoid system (ECS) are very different from other classic cannabinoids like THC. Instead of stimulating your ECS (and potentially overstimulating it), CBD communicates with CB1 receptors so that they are harder to activate and over-activate. [2] CBD also helps boost your natural levels of endocannabinoids [3] by inhibiting their reuptake and degradation. This dual activity of CBD on the endocannabinoid system, as well as its myriad of benefits on other systems (like serotonin and pain receptors) creates homeostasis, or a balancing effect, in your body and mind.

As we know, pregnancy is full of hormonal changes that create a cascade of events leading up to the birth and beyond. Not to mention, endocannabinoid deficiency is a real problem, especially in the Midwest. Using my knowledge and research to the best of my ability, I figured, if I can find balance amidst all that is happening in my body with the help of CBD, I might as well try it out!

How CBD Helped Me

CBD helped me manage my morning sickness, especially this time around with the twins. I’ll be honest in that it never completely went away. But, it definitely took the edge off and helped me feel more comfortable in the first trimester. Insomnia, something I’ve never struggled with before, hit me hard at the end of my first pregnancy. I remedied this by ingesting a Vegan Broad Spectrum Gummy before bed every night. Some women talk about experiencing anxiety while pregnant, which I seem to have completely avoided, possibly due to my supplementation.

My Favorite Products During Pregnancy, Labor & Postpartum

There are so many options and ways in which you can consume CBD. One of my personal favorites is supplementing with our

THC-free CBD Isolate tincture (can easily be mixed in your favorite beverage if you can’t stomach much).
I’d highly recommend our CBD pain patch for labor and deliver.
If you can get your support person to rub some of this pain relief cream on your back during contractions, breathing through the pain becomes so much easier. I had terrible back labor with my first child.

Tips for supplementing with CBD during your pregnancy:

Please, please, please…do your own research. Seeking scientific information is a great place to begin. If science jargon is hard for you to understand, seek blogs that explain it in an easy to understand way, but make sure they cite their sources.
If you are going to supplement with CBD, make sure you are using 3rd party lab-tested products from a trusted source. A ton of products contain heavy metals, chemical ingredients, synthetic fragrances, fillers/additives, pesticides, and more. Most of what we put into our body goes to our baby. So, please seek out help from the experts that can provide you with lab results and a Certificate of Analysis.
If you are nervous about ingesting CBD. A topical product can be very effective but will not cross over to the placenta.
Finally, after you do your due diligence and find a quality product, trust your intuition. Your mama instincts know what is best for you and your growing baby (or babies!).

All things considered, the prohibition of hemp has only recently ended and long-term studies regarding pregnancy have not been conducted for this reason. What I can tell you is that in my eyes, CBD from a trusted source is as close to nature you can get. I hear so many women complain of terrible pregnancies, literally hating every minute of it. It is my hope that my experience can spread awareness about how to safely consume CBD during pregnancy.

Cheers to having a happy, healthy pregnancy!

Happy Trails has your back when it comes to trusted products that are always going to rank at the highest quality. As always, we cannot tell you what to do or can’t make any medical claims. It is ultimately up to you!

Please do not hesitate to reach out to us or message us on facebook or instagram if you have any questions. We’ll make time for any and all of your questions.

Is CBD Safe During Pregnancy?