Still, Acetaminophen, commonly known as Tylenol, has been deemed the safest painkiller for women during pregnancy.
By Catholics for Catholics
A recent study done by a team of Harvard researchers found that the use of acetaminophen, commonly known as Tylenol, by pregnant women may be linked to a greater chance of the child developing autism spectrum disorder or ADHD, afterwards in their childhood.
In the study published earlier this month, Andrea Baccarelli and his team of researchers at Harvard University discovered that when children are subjected to the drug during pregnancy “they may be more likely to develop neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) including autism and ADHD,” a university press release said on Aug. 20.
According to The Epoch Times, acetaminophen, commonly sold under the brand name Tylenol and many others, has been deemed to be the most harmless painkiller for pregnant women to manage fever, headache, and other pain. The drug is also called paracetamol in other countries, including the United Kingdom and Mexico.
Baccarrelli and his team analyzed the conclusions of 46 studies on the painkiller that represents data from 100,000 participants. The investigators examined a potential link between pregnant women taking acetaminophen and neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and ADHD, also known as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
Their examination, according to the study’s deduction, “identified studies that found a statistically significant increased risk of NDDs such as ADHD and [autism spectrum disorder] from prenatal acetaminophen exposure, as well as a smaller number of studies that did not find such an association.”
The Times reported that the study, which ran on Aug. 13 in the BMC Environmental Health journal, did not demonstrate that acetaminophen can precisely bring about autism and ADHD, but the researchers immersed in the paper raised concerns about current clinical guidelines around administering the painkiller for pregnant women.
“Our findings show that higher-quality studies are more likely to show a link between prenatal acetaminophen exposure and increased risks of autism and ADHD,” said Diddier Prada, an assistant professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai who was involved in the study, in a statement. “Given the widespread use of this medication, even a small increase in risk could have major public health implications.”
Still, Prada added that “pregnant women should not stop taking medication without consulting their doctors,” noting that “untreated pain or fever can also harm the baby. Our study highlights the importance of discussing the safest approach with health care providers and considering non-drug options whenever possible.”
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