Side Effects of Acetaminophen in pregnancy

Acetaminophen is very common OTC drug used for treating fever, cold, cough, headaches and pain. It is available in market by various names such as Paracetamol, Tylenol, Crocin, Acephen, Actamin, Feverall, Mapap, Q-Pap, Tactinal, Tempra, Uniserts, Vitapap, etc. Acetaminophen (Paracetamol, Tylenol) is also prescribed during pregnancy to treat fever and pain.

Warning:The use of Paracetamol or acetaminophen during pregnancy may increases risk of various diseases in baby.

Some of disease which are observed during studies are

  • Paracetamol increased risk of asthma/bronchitis and wheezing in baby
  • Paracetamol affects psychomotor and neurodevelopment in baby
  • Paracetamol can cause behavioural dysfunction

A recent study was done on 64,333 children and mother in Danish National Birth Cohort for year 1996-2002. The parents were given questionnaire for this study. It was found that more than half of the mothers, who took Paracetamol during pregnancy reported behavioural problems, Hyperkinetic disorder, Attention deficit/Hyperactivity disorder.

So it is very important for mother to be remain careful and avoid exposure of any medicine on developing foetus.

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