First on CNN: Ob/gyn group advises against cannabis use during pregnancy, recommends universal screening

(CNN) — New guidance from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists advises that people abstain from cannabis use during pregnancy and lactation and recommends that providers ask all of their patients about cannabis use before, during and after pregnancy to help avoid potential risks.

Cannabis use has increased among pregnant people in the United States amid broadening legalization and growing social acceptance, and the nation’s leading group of ob/gyns says it issued the new recommendations Thursday to offer providers “evidence-based guidelines for counseling, screening, and strategies to reduce cannabis use.”

A 2019 analysis of over 450,000 pregnant American women ages 12 to 44 by the National Institute on Drug Abuse found that cannabis use more than doubled betwee