Cannamama Chats with Kait

Last week, I asked some of the Mamas on our team to answer a couple of questions for me. It has always felt like a balm to hear other women’s experiences integrating cannabis and motherhood, so I hoped that sharing ours throughout this week might feel like that for some of you.

Kait is one of our pregnant budtenders (we love a baby bump slinging weed, that’s for sure). Kait is a medical consumer who has had to make some really complicated decisions around cannabis during her pregnancy. I’m sure it’s not lost on anyone how brave and generous it is for her to share her experience, in hopes that it helps someone else feel less alone as they navigate their own transition into motherhood as a therapeutic consumer.

So, here is Kait, answering our Cannamama Questions.

How has motherhood changed your relationship with cannabis?

I’m so new to motherhood that my baby isn’t even out yet, but it has still impacted the way I view (and use!) cannabis. Before I found out I was pregnant, I was an everyday bong smoker. Now, I may have a few hits off a low-THC preroll once or twice a week. I have many conflicting feelings about cannabis and pregnancy, but as a medical user with fibromyalgia, I believe that using a plant to help manage my symptoms has to be better than any chemical cocktail. My focus has changed to a more conscious decision making process. I’m looking at terpenes to reduce inflammation and promote restfulness, I’m aiming to get products with CBD in them, and I’m not looking for high-THC strains anymore.

How has cannabis impacted your experience of motherhood?

I don’t know motherhood without cannabis and I wouldn’t have it any other way. There are so many stressors being a first-time mom and it eases my discomfort both mentally and physically. When I feel stressed, unprepared, nauseous, restless, exhausted, I’ve got heartburn, back pain, and I’m riding a crazy hormone-induced emotional roller coaster, cannabis can give me a chance to calm down, change my perspective, and get some damn sleep.

Thank you, Kait, for sharing this perspective. Decisions around medicating with anything during pregnancy are always fraught, whether we’re taking antidepressants, pharmaceutical pain medication, or in this case, cannabis. The stigma and lack of research can be overwhelming.

We’ll keep sharing our stories all this week, as we head into this second pandemic Mothers Day.

As always, we would love to hear yours too.