During pregnancy, you are likely to experience regular cases of backache, fever, or headaches, which you can easily manage with over-the-counter medications like acetaminophen – also referred to as Tylenol.
Dr. Torbati,
During pregnancy, you are likely to experience regular cases of backache, fever, or headaches, which you can easily manage with over-the-counter medications like acetaminophen – also referred to as Tylenol.
Dr. Torbati, Tarzana OBGYN, warns against the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) such as aspirin and ibuprofen, especially during late pregnancy, because they can interfere with fetal circulation and cause other adverse effects. However, there is evidence suggesting that taking Tylenol during pregnancy is also dangerous as the drug may increase the risk of the baby developing asthma or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
How dangerous is Tylenol for pregnant women?
According to most studies, the increased risk is small, and there is still no certainty that the drug itself is responsible for the resulting wheezing and asthma. But since an estimated 65 percent of pregnant women in the US use Tylenol at some point during their pregnancy, it is possible that a large number of children could have related problems
One mysterious thing about the use of acetaminophen as a pain killer is that no one knows for sure how it works, despite decades of use, yet it is known for its strange side effects.
Some experiments argue that the drug works by impeding the user’s ability to empathise. In other words, it undercuts the brain’s ability to perceive errors. When a user takes the drug after a vaccine, it is claimed to suppress the immune system.
How does Tylenol affect both asthma and ADHD rates?
Scientists speculate that the drug tweaks the immune system of pregnant women, or disrupts hormones, or alters growth factors in the developing brain, but there is no certainty.
Research suggests that the prevalence of asthma doubled from 1980 to 2000. During this period, there were concerns that children who took aspirin developed a rare condition called Reye’s syndrome, leading to a major shift to taking acetaminophen.
Based on this, rather weak, circumstantial evidence, scientists at King’s College London clai