The US President shocked many medical doctors worldwide when he and his administration claimed paracetamol – referred to as acetaminophen within the US – which is seen because the go-to painkiller for pregnant ladies – might be linked to autism in youngsters, if taken throughout being pregnant.
These claims led to confusion amongst ladies and concern amongst well being consultants, and prompted this new analysis.
Printed in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology & Ladies’s Well being, exterior, it checked out 43 of essentially the most strong research into paracetamol use throughout being pregnant, involving tons of of 1000’s of girls, notably these evaluating pregnancies the place the mom had taken the drug to pregnancies the place she hadn’t.
The researchers say utilizing these high-quality research of siblings means they’ll dismiss different components corresponding to totally different genes and household environments, which makes their evaluate “gold-standard”.
The analysis additionally checked out research with a low threat of bias and people who adopted youngsters for greater than 5 years to verify for any hyperlink.
“After we did this evaluation, we discovered no hyperlinks, there was no affiliation, there isn’t any proof that paracetamol will increase the danger of autism,” lead research writer and guide obstetrician Professor Asma Khalil, instructed the BBC.
“The message is evident – paracetamol stays a protected choice throughout being pregnant when taken as guided,” she added.
This reinforces steering from main medical organisations within the UK, US and Europe on the protection of the widespread painkiller.
Any previously-reported hyperlinks between the drug and an elevated threat of autism are more likely to be defined by different components, fairly than a direct impact of the paracetamol itself, the evaluate says.
“That is vital as paracetamol is the first-line medicine we advocate for pregnant ladies in ache or with a fever,” stated Prof Khalil, professor of maternal fetal medication at Metropolis St George’s, College of London.
Well being recommendation warns that girls can run the danger of harming their child if they do not take paracetamol to carry down a excessive temperature or relieve ache when pregnant. This will improve the danger of miscarriage, untimely start or developmental issues in infants.
