A study by Allen and colleagues examined whether CBD exposure during pregnancy altered the placenta in rats. The investigators injected CBD or a vehicle during a defined period of gestation and examined placentas late in pregnancy. The CBD-exposed pregnancies produced pups that were approximately 10% smaller in the study.
What the placental measurements add
The researchers observed structural differences in fetal blood spaces and changes in the expression of genes involved in blood vessel development. They also reported changes in the expression of glucose transporters. These observations give researchers a basis for investigating how placental changes might contribute to differences in fetal growth.
The experiment establishes an exposure and outcome under a specified rat protocol. A review of a human case would need to account for the route, timing and amount of exposure, along with the range of other influences on fetal growth. The study’s percentage describes the experimental groups and does not estimate an individual human outcome.
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