DH & my twinboys gave me a subscription to hipmama zine as a gift, so when I had a question I didn't feel comfortable posing to my GP, I thought I'd search the boards here...

& here you are.

Since the birth of my twins (20 June 03), the migraines I thought I'd left behind in college have come back with a vengeance. Midwife & GP think b/c of all the hormonal flux, the lack of sleep, etc -- all of which makes sense, but doesn't ease the pain. Both have been comfortable prescribing narcotic-based painkillers (percocet, etc), similar to the dosage I took while recovering from my c-section, but they've been less & less effective. reading this month's Mothering magazine, esp her comments abt marijuana use to treat migraines got me thinking & brought me here -- to a thread already full of great info for me to read & consider.

Thank you.

"You're going to think you'll never think another thought again. But you will." --Frances Jaffer

just my experience here. I was an avid pot smoker for years and years, through both kids nursing but not really while I was pregnant (actully dd #2 I was morning sick all day all 9 months so I did at the end, for nausa at my midwifes approval). I didnt smoke for like 6 months after each birth because of anxiety issues. Im diagnosed bipolar and thought for years that pot helped my mood swings. I recently went to an acupunturist who suggested I quit for amonth while undrgoing treatment and see if I see a difference. I did and thought it had to be just the treatment, started again and within 2 weeks I became irritable again. I found that interesting.
As far as impact on the kids goes, both DH and My mothers smoked pot while pregnant and nursing us. I have a reasonably high IQ (131), I did very well inschool - a's and high b's. Dh is a very well adjusted mellow guy who works hard and has no mental incapacities at all. My kids are both with it, 6 year old above grade level on reading and math..4 year old I dont worry about yet, but shes got it going on. Thats just my experience.

life is dangerous and alwys ends in death

I don't remember if Spiritual Midwifery goes into it, but it seems like something the midwives at the Farm would know something about. Maybe read some of their books and see if they say anything about it?
On a personal note; I waited until my oldest was weaned. The first time I smoked after weaning him I got a massive migrane and never wanted to smoke again. Well, every once in a while I kind of do, but not enough to actually find some and now I'm nursing again anyway...
Mary Linda

i'm just gonna agree, suggest this month's mothering magazine, and keep my personal experiences to myself this time.

I'm so happy that you brought up this topic and I'm glad that no one has been judgemental or condeming! I've been thinking about this lately for some of the same reasons you have and just haven't had the guts to bring it up in a public forum..

Missa

Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous amounts of energy
merely trying to be normal - Camus

I smoked while I was nursing both my babies. I was an everyday smoker also. My children are healthy and smart. They have never had any developmental problems. I smoked for a variety of reasons but I loved smoking on days when I wasn't leaving the house in the car, and just hanging out with the kids. I seemed to be able to understand them and communicate much more effectively with them. I can no longer smoke in front of them because they don't understand the politics but after they have gone to bed or if they are occupied with something and there is another resonsible adult around, I will go take an long potty break and come back ready for another round of playing.

And my children are lovely and intelligent 6 and 12 year-olds. I would say, in moderation only and of course, not around your children, but you seem to have a handle on that! After my first, I was suffering with post-partum anxiety and had to abstain as it would cause me to become paranoid and check on my sleeping baby every 20 seconds!

Katherine

I have done a lot of research on marijuana/breastfeeding as well. I have also talked to my pediatrician and a close family friend, a pot-smoking midwife who frequently recommends a little pot to laboring moms, about the question of whether or not smoking pot while breastfeeding is dangerous.

We all agreed that smoking ANYthing (even organic pot) while pregnant is not a good idea. Beyond that, it's a matter of personal choice. Neither my pediatrician nor my midwife has discouraged me from smoking pot from time to time (during those first 6 postpartum weeks, it was actually encouraged, what with the surging hormones, the throbbing stitches, the wonderfully slow, lazy mornings lolling in bed with baby girl...). Smoking pot also helped us with the weaning process many months later (it has been proven that pot slows milk production slightly in lactating women - it also eases the pain of engorgement.)

I don't ever smoke in front of my daughter, nor do I smoke to the point of being rendered incapable of reading 'Goodnight Moon' a million times, or chasing baby girl around the park/house/backyard, whathaveyou. I am of the opinion that natural, organic substances that come straight from the earth are much, much safer for you and your baby, than synthetic, chemically engineered pills and powders that the pharmacutical industry will have you believe are "harmless."

I know more than a few kids, my own included, whose Mamas smoked pot and nursed, and every single one of them is bright, lively and healthy as a horse. Of course, we all live in the lovely San Francisco Bay Area... maybe we just grow them differently around here. :]