Following US President Donald Trump’s controversial claims last year that paracetamol “isn’t good” and that pregnant women have to “fight like crazy” not to use it, experts who conducted a new review have now spoken out.
Taking paracetamol during pregnancy is safe and there is no evidence that it increases the risk of autism, ADHD and developmental problems in children, they say, adding that pregnant women should “feel reassured” by the findings.
The US president shocked many doctors around the world when he and his administration claimed that acetaminophen or a branded version called Tylenol, an over-the-counter painkiller for pregnant women, could be linked to autism in children if taken during pregnancy.
These claims sparked confusion among women and concerns among health experts, prompting this new study.
Published in The Lancet Obstetrics, gynecology and women’s healthIt looked at 43 of the most robust studies on acetaminophen use during pregnancy, involving hundreds of thousands of women, especially those that compared pregnancies where the mother had taken the drug with pregnancies where she had not.
The researchers say using these high-quality studies means they can discount other factors, such as different genes and family environments, making their assessment ‘gold standard’.
“When we did this analysis we found no association, there was no association, there is no evidence that paracetamol increases the risk of autism,” lead study author and consultant obstetrician Professor Asma Khalil told the BBC.
“The message is clear: paracetamol remains a safe option during pregnancy when taken according to guidelines,” she concluded.
