During the pregnancy, Paracetamol is the preferred choice to treat mild or moderate pain and fever. It has been used routinely during all stages of pregnancy to reduce a high temperature and for pain relief.
A new study by the University of Bristol now has added proof that links potential adverse impacts of taking Paracetamol during pregnancy.
The study analyzed whether there were any impacts of taking Paracetamol in mid-pregnancy and the behavior of the offspring between the ages of 6 months and 11 years, with memory and IQ tested up until the age of 17.
Using questionnaire and school information from Bristol’s Children of the 90s study, scientists examined 14,000 children. When they were seven months pregnant, 43 percent of their mothers said they had taken paracetamol ‘sometimes’ or more often during the previous three months.
Scientists examined the results of the children’s memory, IQ, and pre-school development tests, temperament, and behavior measures.
They found an association between paracetamol intake and hyperactivity and attention problems just as with other challenging behaviors with young children that were not represented by the reasons why the medication was taken or social factors. Be that as it may, this was no longer the case when the kids reached the end of primary school. Boys appeared to be more susceptible than girls to the possible behavioral effects of the drug.
Professor Jean Golding OBE who also founded the University of Bristol’s Children of the 90s study commented, “Our findings add to a series of results concerning evidence of the possible adverse effects of taking Paracetamol during pregnancy such as issues with asthma or behavior in the offspring. It reinforces the advice that women should be cautious when taking medication during pregnancy and to seek medical advice where necessary.”
“Our findings must be tested in other studies – we were not in a position to show a causal link, rather an association between two outcomes. It would also be useful now to assess whether older children and adults are free of difficult behavioral problems if their mother had taken Paracetamol.”
Scientists published their paper in the Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology.