This is the second and final part of my canna-pregnancy experience. Before we delve into this, I would like to say a huge thanks for the overwhelming response I received from the first article. There were a lot of women who posed numerous questions wanting to find out more and I hope that from this these women and many more will seek to make the educated and informed decision to pursue a canna-pregnancy experience.

I would firstly like to discuss my experience from the hospital during the birthing of my canna-baby. I was scheduled for a C-section and at the time I was going through quite a bit of emotional distress as my father had just passed away 2 days prior. I had the FECO oil with me and after the surgery the doctors and nurses were surprised at how well I was dealing with the pain and trauma as I was not being given full doses of morphine. There were no complications during the surgery nor were there any problems with my baby; she was healthy and latched on very quickly and I think that this talks to the anandamide in our system.

You might be asking yourself “What is anandamide?” The anandamide is an endocannabinoid that our body produces naturally. It is a neurotransmitter and cannabinoid-receptor binding agent that impacts a number of physiological mechanisms including pain management, appetite stimulation, mood fluctuation and even fertility. So, by taking the FECO and smoking cannabis the anandamide was being activated and this was being fed into my baby through the breast milk.

I was only in hospital for one more day after that before being discharged and I knew that I needed to continue giving my baby her daily dose of cannabinoids. What I did to achieve this was by timing her sleep and smoking a joint just before it was time for her to feed. This acted as a superfood or a supplement (if you will), that not only provided my baby with nutrition but also helped my body recover from the stresses of giving birth. During the first week of breast-feeding women normally feel a lot of pain and tension in their body. The cannabis helped my muscles relax and compared to my first baby; the breastfeeding experience was such a breeze this time around. I had good sufficient milk flow, my baby slept so well, there was nothing negative from the experience.

I was only in hospital for one more day after that before being discharged and I knew that I needed to continue giving my baby her daily dose of cannabinoids. What I did to achieve this was by timing her sleep and smoking a joint just before it was time for her to feed. This acted as a superfood or a supplement (if you will), that not only provided my baby with nutrition but also helped my body recover from the stresses of giving birth. During the first week of breast-feeding women normally feel a lot of pain and tension in their body. The cannabis helped my muscles relax and compared to my first baby; the breastfeeding experience was such a breeze this time around. I had good sufficient milk flow, my baby slept so well, there was nothing negative from the experience.

I would even go insofar as to say that this aided in her development in terms of hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills and even language skills. There is a significant difference in the experience of development between my 2 kids. That’s not to say that my son (my first born) is slow or under-developed, but the differences are there and that talks to how each of them were brought into this world.

I was on all kinds of pharmaceutical medication with my first born. Medication that is deemed imperative and necessary throughout the pregnancy and feeding of my first born that has resulted in his immunity being as low as it is. That is why I refer to him as my “Panado baby”. With my daughter (second born), there has been no compromise to her development due to my decision to pursue the canna-pregnancy. She has rarely been sick, her defence mechanisms are very strong and I know deep down in my heart that’s a result of feeding her endocannabinoid system.

This fact aided in my choice to not take her for any immunizations. At the time there was a massive uproar with regards to vaccinations and immunizations with people saying that our bodies have naturally produced defence mechanisms and that we build immunity by “putting our hands in dirt”. So that got me thinking, “What if I go the natural route?” and “What did people in the 1800’s do to protect their kids against plagues and so forth?”. That’s what made me decide on this and if anything were to happen, I can always revert back to what western medicine has advised. If one day when my baby is all grown up and she decides that she wants to get the vaccinations I know that I have taught her everything that she needs to know where the alternatives are concerned. This is a decision that I made for her with my Health and Wellness background and all the information that I had and knowing how to live in the holistically natural way.

My daughter was examined on numerous occasions by our doctor in the first year and there was no indication or negative impact due to the canna-pregnancy or the breast feeding after using cannabis or that she has not been vaccinated. If anything, the outcome of everything that I’ve done so far has been nothing but positive.

The perspective has definitely changed in the people in my life with regards to their opinion of canna-pregnancy and the alternative healing and holistic properties it possesses. I made this decision to pursue canna-pregnancy before the court ruling. I was pregnant in 2017 and gave birth in 2018. Most of my family were very skeptical. But I knew that this was the best decision that I could make for myself and my baby.

If mums are having babies and they are choosing not to go the pharmaceutical route and rather the alternative; it may not even be cannabis, during my pregnancy I was also taking Moringa on top of my cannabis usage to further aide in my immunity and in the development of my unborn baby, but do not shy away from making the decision if you believe it is the right one to make. Talk to your partner and your family about it.

I have no regrets whatsoever and there have been no negative impacts from the decisions I’ve made. The only regret that I have is that our legislation does not allow us to speak openly about this because cannabis is still viewed by many as a drug. Our constitution allows us with the freedom of choice to do anything in terms of ourselves like being vegan or choosing alternative healing, but cannabis does not form part of that. I believe this a massive contradiction on the part of our government and law-makers.

By Quanita Booley

Disclaimer: This story has been shared by Quanita of her experience when using Cannabis through her pregnancy. This article is not intended by any means to give any medical advice nor claim that Cannabis is safe to use during pregnancy either by Quanita Booley or Skyf Co Magazine.