Paracetamol (or acetaminophen) is the analgesic and antipyretic that is most often used in pregnancy to treat pain or flu-like symptoms, as it is considered safe.
However, in recent years, numerous investigations link taking it repeatedly during pregnancy with risks to the fetus , such as neurodevelopmental disorders, attention deficit disorders (ADHD) and autism, reproductive and urogenital disorders.
The results of a new study conducted by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, and published in Plos One, add to recent scientific evidence by associating it with sleep and attention problems in children at age three.
Attention and sleep problems at age three
To find out, they used the “First Baby Study” database, with 2,423 mother-child pairs. The mothers were asked to complete a questionnaire about whether they used medications during pregnancy and whether they experienced prenatal stress during their third trimester. At age three, their children’s attention levels were measured according to the “Child Behavior Checklist” (CBCL).
More than a thousand women, 41.7 percent of the participants claimed to have taken paracetamol during pregnancy. And precisely the children who were exposed to this drug before birth obtained three of the seven CBCL scores: withdrawal, sleep and attention problems.
After adjusting the data for prenatal stress, also linked to behavioral problems, the researchers found that children whose mothers had taken acetaminophen were at increased risk of attention and sleep problems.
“Our study is the first to find a predictive association between acetaminophen use and sleep problems in preschool age, suggesting that this medication may impact prenatal neurology,” the study authors write.
It would be necessary to know more precise data such as how much paracetamol the women who participated in the study have taken, how often and in what trimester.
In the absence of further research, acetaminophen is still considered safe. However, the researchers warn that because its use in pregnancy is so common, caution should be exercised in the use of medications containing this drug.
