Cannabis Use Exposes Breastfeeding Infants to Chemicals
Breastfeeding parents who use cannabis regularly should know a new study found chemical traces in their babies' urine.
Updated on Nov. 7, 2026 in Babies
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A Washington State University study found that breastfeeding infants of mothers who regularly used cannabis were exposed to volatile organic compounds (VOCs), with detectable metabolites in every infant studied. The study enrolled breastfeeding women in Washington and Oregon who smoked or vaped cannabis more than once per week.
Why it matters
Many mothers turn to cannabis in place of other pharmaceutical drugs because they view it as safer, so this research bears directly on infant health decisions made at home. The findings add to a limited body of evidence on what passes through breast milk to babies.
Researchers detected 24 VOC metabolites in infant urine, and concentrations rose after maternal cannabis use compared with baseline. Every infant in the study had at least one sample with a detectable VOC metabolite.
The players
Washington State University
A public research university whose researchers conducted the study on cannabis use during breastfeeding.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The federal public health agency that analyzed the stored milk and urine samples in this study.
The details
Mothers collected milk and infant urine samples, starting with a baseline sample taken 12 hours after they abstained from cannabis. Cannabis was then used as the mother normally would, and additional samples were collected at intervals afterward. Many VOCs are human-made chemicals found in paint, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and pesticides, and researchers stored the samples until analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Timeline
A couple of years before the study, researchers surveyed women using cannabis during lactation.
November 7, 2026: the article reporting the WSU study findings was published.
The Home Front
The study builds on the CDC's laboratory measurement of chemicals in human biological samples, a method used to track household exposures. It adds cannabis to the set of home-related exposure questions that parents are weighing during breastfeeding.
If you are breastfeeding and use cannabis, talk with your pediatrician or your baby's healthcare provider about what you have learned from this study. Keep a record of when you use cannabis relative to feedings so you can share accurate details with your provider.
The takeaway
Exposure to chemicals can pass to a breastfeeding baby through breast milk, so discussing any cannabis use with your healthcare provider is a practical first step. Keep your pediatrician's contact information handy and bring questions about infant exposures to every checkup.
Further reading
For more on newborn and infant health, explore our Babies coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by KOIN 6 Portland.
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