Take this FWIW:
When a woman smokes regular cigarettes and is pregnant, sonograms will show the fetus cease activity (sort of "freeze" whereas it had been moving about before.) Every bioscientist that I've heard thinks that this is because of blood vessel constriction lowering the flow through the umbilical cord, and thereby depriving the fetus of normal oxygen quantities.
Because THC is a more powerful blood vessel constrictor than nicotine, one could be forgiven for deducing that it's effect on the umbilical cord's ability to provide oxygen was at least as bad if not significantly worse.
One can choose to ignore this, of course. (I could make bad jokes here about conspiracies against pot or rigged evidence, but I believe that this is VERY serious information.) If I had anything to do with a woman's decision to smoke pot while pregnant, or my own smoking around her, I would consider the "It's probably OK" position a fundamentally immoral "experiment on the fetus."
I have bolded the most important in all of this. They dont "know".
Cigarettes are most def. proven to be far worse on the human body than marijuana.
I dont know if you have had a chance to read the Jamacia study on pregnant women, but it paints a far different picture.
However, as it is near impossible to have proper controls around tests with women during their pregnancy (as no woman would risk their pregnancy in the name of science), mankind may never truly know the actual affects any substances (food, drugs, liquids, etc) really have on a fetus.
I don't think anyone is recommending getting high throughout a pregnancy, but I think someone who does enough research can conclude that it may not be any better/worse for the fetus than taking some of the Rx's given to women to combat complications that cannabis could also treat.
As to smoking pot vs other intakes methods: science can't prove the following (because we cannot shrink down and ride around on the molecular level), but the impact upon the blood vessels doesn't occur because somebody sucked smoke into their lungs, it occurs because the active ingredients get into the blood.
It's the blood which delivers them to the brain and everywhere else, including the umbilical cord. THC ingested must have the exact same route to the brain and the rest of the body, so how it's ingested makes no difference on this particular point (impact on the blood vessels.)
The difference would only be as to the amount of active drug that was available cruising around in the blood. If ingested THC gives more THC, then its impacts will be greater --- and everyone knows that due to what they are really trying to get out of the experience, i.e. the "high."
as to this, there are many extracts within cannabis that can be given that does not produce the "high".
As far as pregnant woman, I would imagine they arent out "searching" for the high experience unless they were already a regular user. They would only want the side effects of no nausea, relaxing, etc. to aid in their pregnancy.
