Public health messages about perinatal marijuana use in an evolving policy context.

BACKGROUND: Marijuana is a commonly used substance in pregnancy in the United States. It is unknown what public health messages about perinatal marijuana use are being disseminated in the changing policy landscape.

METHODS: The authors systematically searched 51 state and 5 federal public health agencies' Web sites in February 2016 for information about perinatal marijuana use. Of these, 1 federal agency and 10 state agencies had published information about perinatal marijuana use. Content analysis was performed by 2 investigators, with excellent interrater reliability (mean κ = 0.87).

RESULTS: Most content was targeted to the public, although 3 agencies had content targeted to health care providers. Common messages about health effects included adverse outcomes in infants and children exposed in utero and that marijuana can be passed via breast milk to infants. Eight sites mentioned health effects of marijuana use during breastfeeding, 5 included resources to stop using marijuana, 5 mentioned implications of marijuana use for infant safety, and 3 mentioned potential legal consequences.

CONCLUSIONS: The volume of public health messages about perinatal marijuana use is low, content of messages differs across state agencies, and perinatal marijuana is seldom addressed in content published by federal agencies.