How prenatal marijuana affects the placenta and infant brain growth
Official title: Placental Genomics in the Developmental Consequences of Marijuana Use in Pregnancy
Funded at Miriam Hospital · NIH-11324952 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project will look at how marijuana use during pregnancy changes the placenta and might affect an infant's growth and brain development.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Miriam Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Providence, United States) |
| Project start | June 1, 2023 |
| Project end | March 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $675,274 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DA056787-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11324952 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Pregnant people (and their newborns) who used marijuana during pregnancy and are willing to provide placental tissue at birth and participate in follow-up visits.
✕Less likely to help
People who are not pregnant, who did not have prenatal marijuana exposure, or who cannot provide placental samples or follow-up data are unlikely to benefit directly from this work.
What this research studies
If you used marijuana while pregnant, researchers may collect your placenta at delivery and analyze its gene activity to see how exposure relates to newborn size and early brain development. They will compare placental genomic patterns from pregnancies with and without cannabis exposure and link those patterns to infant outcomes in an ongoing mother-infant cohort. The team uses advanced genomic profiling to find biological pathways and biomarkers that could signal fetal harm from prenatal cannabis. Results aim to point to targets for future screening or interventions to help exposed children.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could identify placental markers that help detect or prevent harms from prenatal marijuana exposure and guide future care for exposed infants.
How similar studies have gone: Earlier work by this team has linked prenatal cannabis to infant outcomes and other studies show placental genomics can reflect prenatal exposures, but comprehensive genomic study of cannabis exposure is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
Miriam Hospital
Providence, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Stroud, Laura R — Miriam Hospital
- Study coordinator: Stroud, Laura R
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
How air pollution during pregnancy affects fetal growth over time
This study looks at how air pollution affects the growth of babies in the womb during pregnancy, using ultrasound images to track changes over time, and it aims to help expectant parents understand when their babies might be most at risk from pollution.
-
Postoperative Pain Guidelines for Pregnancy: Safer, Patient-Centered Opioid Use
We’re creating patient-friendly guidelines to help doctors manage pain after delivery and surgery in pregnant people, aiming to reduce opioid overuse and improve safety.
-
HPV and pregnancy risk: a big study following 1,280 pregnancies
A large pregnancy study at UTMB looks at whether human papillomavirus (HPV) during pregnancy is linked to problems like preterm birth.
-
Understanding how where you live and personal factors during pregnancy affect a child’s risk for obesity and metabolic problems
This project looks at how neighborhood conditions and individual factors during pregnancy may influence a child’s risk of obesity and metabolic health as they grow.
-
Blocking cancer-causing cMYC tricks after pregnancy changes in the breast
Researchers are testing how pregnancy and aging reshape the breast before cancer risk, using patient-reinformed models to see if it changes how dangerous cMYC signals behave.
-
SSRI use during pregnancy: effects on placental blood flow and inflammation
This grant studies how antidepressants (SSRIs) used during pregnancy might affect the placenta and inflammation, and whether a 5-HT2 receptor blocker could mitigate any negative effects.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.