Congratulations, you’re a new mom! While parenting comes with its own learning curve, it’s okay to turn to the internet in search of an answer for the question you’ve been wondering, “When can I smoke weed again”?

Even if you’re not a smoker but make good use of tinctures and extracts for whatever reason, we’re here to give you a detailed look at how using cannabis while breastfeeding could impact your child’s health and development.

For starters, let’s take a look at when you’re in the clear to use cannabis after giving birth. If you’re heading down the breastfeeding route (rather than formula), we’re sorry to say that you’ll have to wait a few more months until you can safely ingest cannabis without harming your child. 

The main component in cannabis that can be detrimental to an infant’s brain is the psychoactive cannabinoid THC. This cannabinoid is fat-soluble and accumulates in breast milk, according to Healthline. And as per the FDA, THC can stay in breast milk for up to six days, so it’s best if you don’t ingest marijuana until you’re done breastfeeding or away from your child for a week (which is not encouraged nor likely).

You might be thinking, why not just pump and dump? This is a method new mothers use in the event they ingest alcohol, caffeine, or another substance that could potentially harm their child. The mother simply pumps the milk and discards it. However, the same doesn’t work for cannabis. Because THC can stay in the breast milk for a week, you’d have to dump all of your milk produced that week in order to safely consume cannabis. 

The FDA notes that cannabis can be detrimental to a baby‘s brain, especially THC. And while these effects might not present themself quickly, sadly, they show up in the long-term for cognitive function and behavioral development. Some studies took that up a notch and gave us a close-up look at how much cannabis an infant is ingesting through mom’s breastmilk.

The mothers were frequent cannabis users, and during this study, they ingested THC products ranging from 0.4 to 8.7%. The study concluded that roughly 2.5% of the mother’s dose ends up in breast milk and is subsequently ingested by the infant. So it’s not a whole lot of THC in breast milk, but it’s definitely enough to hinder your child’s cognitive and behavioral development.