Frankie Fann
Capstone Project Committee: Emily Hardisty, M.S., CGC; Scott Parnell, Ph.D.; Rachel Mills, M.S., CGC
The present study examined how the public portrays the safety of cannabidiol CBD use during pregnancy on the social media platform Instagram. A total of 50 randomly selected Instagram posts using the hashtag “#CBDpregnancy” were examined for information about CBD use in pregnancy. Additionally, 199 comments associated with those Instagram posts were assessed. A codebook was created and used to analyze information provided in posts and in comments about CBD and pregnancy. A majority of posts (72%) portrayed CBD in a positive manner, 28% portrayed CBD in a neutral manner, and none of the posts portrayed CBD in a negative manner. Forty-six percent of posts did not make any claims about health benefits while 54% of posts made claims about physical and/or mental benefits of CBD use in pregnancy including alleviation of pain and improvements in anxiety and depression. Few posts addressed topics such as federal regulation, legality, or side effects. Of the 199 comments, a majority of comments (approximately 56%) were considered positive as they agreed with the posted information, asked for or provided clarification on positive or neutral information, or described a positive personal experience with CBD in pregnancy. Only two comments described negative personal experiences. Approximately 18% of comments tagged other accounts, promoted other CBD products, or included additional hashtags involving CBD. The remaining comments (approximately 26%) were unrelated to CBD in pregnancy or reflected author replies to unrelated information. These findings indicate that CBD use during pregnancy is often portrayed in a positive light on social media by highlighting the benefits of CBD use and minimizing negative impacts. However, the impact of CBD use on fetal development is unclear, indicating a need for genetic counselors and other health professionals to provide reliable information to patients who may be seeking support or information about pregnancy through social media networks.