\n<\/p>\n
Taking paracetamol in pregnancy does not increase the chance that the child will be autistic, or have ADHD or an intellectual disability, a \u201cgold standard\u201d review of the evidence has found.<\/p>\n
The findings debunk Donald Trump\u2019s claims last September that the painkiller causes autism, which were condemned by medical, women\u2019s health and scientific organisations around the world.<\/p>\n
The US president\u2019s remarks triggered anxiety among pregnant women because paracetamol is the drug that health authorities worldwide recommend they use to treat pain, such as headaches, and fevers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis systematic review and meta-analysis found no evidence that maternal paracetamol use during pregnancy increases the risk of autism spectrum disorder, ADHD or intellectual disability among children\u201d, says the study, which is published in the Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Women\u2019s Health.<\/p>\n
It has been undertaken by a team of seven researchers from across Europe, led by Asma Khalil, a professor of obstetrics and maternal fetal medicine at City St George\u2019s, University of London, who is also a consultant obstetrician at St George\u2019s hospital in London.<\/p>\n
Their appraisal of 43 previous studies on the subject constitutes \u201cthe most rigorous analysis of the evidence to date\u201d, they say. Papers they examined that compared health outcomes among children born to the same mother included 262,852 under-18s who had been assessed for autism, 335,255 assessed for ADHD and 406,681 assessed for intellectual disability.<\/p>\n
Khalil said: \u201cThe message is clear: paracetamol remains a safe option during pregnancy when taken as guided. This is important as paracetamol is the first-line medication we recommend for pregnant women in pain or with a fever, and so they should feel reassured that they still have a safe option to relieve them of their symptoms.\u201d<\/p>\n
Without naming Trump, the researchers categorically refute his remarks. They \u201chope that this gold-standard review will put an end to any scepticism on using paracetamol during pregnancy as avoiding paracetamol for significant pain or fever can expose both mother and baby to known risks, particularly untreated maternal fever\u201d.<\/p>\n
Trump made his intervention during a press conference at the White House on 22 September. Referring to the drug by its name in America, he said: \u201cTaking Tylenol is not good \u2026 All pregnant women should talk to their doctors about limiting the use of this medication while pregnant \u2026 Don\u2019t take Tylenol. There\u2019s no downside.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said paracetamol in pregnancy was so dangerous that his administration planned to tell doctors in the US to advise expectant mothers to avoid using it.<\/p>\n
However, this new study has concluded that Trump\u2019s statements were baseless. It identified no association between exposure to paracetamol in utero and a baby being autistic, having ADHD or an intellectual disability.<\/p>\n
\u201cFamilial and genetic factors, including the well-established tendency for autistic traits to run in families, are more plausible explanations for previously observed associations than any direct effect of paracetamol,\u201d it says.<\/p>\n
The authors also raise the possibility that an ailment which prompts a woman to take paracetamol regularly during pregnancy may itself play more of a role in influencing a child\u2019s neurodevelopmental status.<\/p>\n
\u201cParacetamol is typically used only intermittently, and its prolonged use raises questions about whether the underlying health condition prompting extended use might be more important in shaping neurodevelopmental outcomes rather than the drug itself,\u201d they say.<\/p>\n
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, responded to Trump\u2019s claims by advising women in the UK to ignore them. \u201cI would just say to people watching: don\u2019t pay any attention whatsoever to what Donald Trump says about medicine,\u201d he said on ITV the day after.<\/p>\n
Experts welcomed the Lancet study. \u201cExpectant mothers do not need the stress of questioning whether medicine most commonly used for a headache could have far-reaching effects on their child\u2019s health.<\/p>\n
Grainne McAlonan, a professor of translational neuroscience at King\u2019s College London, said: \u201cWhile the impact of last year\u2019s announcement has been extensive, I hope the findings of this study bring the matter to a close.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr Steven Kapp, a senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Portsmouth, said: \u201cAn implication is that society needs to stop going down rabbit holes of seeking false prevention of developmental disabilities. Instead, we should focus on making the world a better place for disabled people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Streeting said: \u201cThis major review can, yet again, reassure mothers-to-be everywhere that there is no evidence whatsoever to link the use of paracetamol by pregnant women to autism, ADHD or disabilities in their children.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur country\u2019s leading scientists, doctors, and the NHS are clear that paracetamol is safe to take when pregnant and in pain or suffering a fever.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Taking paracetamol in pregnancy does not increase the chance that the child will be autistic, or have ADHD or an intellectual disability, a \u201cgold standard\u201d review of the evidence has found. The findings debunk Donald Trump\u2019s claims last September that the painkiller causes autism, which were condemned by medical, women\u2019s health and scientific organisations around<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41932,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[5814,3287,12731,1789,188,81],"class_list":{"0":"post-41931","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-autism","9":"tag-claim","10":"tag-debunks","11":"tag-paracetamol","12":"tag-study","13":"tag-trump"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=41931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41931\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/41932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=41931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=41931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=41931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}