According to some reports, two-third of American women use acetaminophen for the aches and pains of pregnancy, but the medication might not work well.
The recent research shows that women who took acetaminophen also known as Tylenol, at the end of their pregnancies were much more likely to have a child with attention-deficit or hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
When researchers and scientists tested blood from the mother and the umbilical cord soon after birth, the odds of these developmental disorders were more than twice as high in children when exposed to acetaminophen near the time of birth.
Previous studies have suggested that there’s a connection between consumption of acetaminophen during pregnancy and ADHD symptoms in children. But the studies were based only on the mother’s memory of taking acetaminophen.
According to Dr. Xiaobin, when the previous studies are combined with the latest one, it shows that prenatal acetaminophen use is consistently helping an increased risk of developmental disabilities which even include ADHD and possibly autism.
According to researchers, acetaminophen has been shown to cross the placenta during pregnancy. The statistical analysis nearly 26% of the children are trapped by ADHD, 7% had autism and 4% has both ADHD and autism.
Dr. Andrew Adesman, Chief of Development and Pediatrics at Cohen Children’s Medical Center, told that acetaminophen is a safe and effective medication when taken with medical advisory and permissible limits, it may not be as safe as presumed if it is taken at the time of pregnancy.
He further told that pregnant women should talk with their health care providers before taking acetaminophen.