Is acetaminophen safe in pregnancy? Here’s what the science says.

No, according to WHO, Acog and AAP. No study has shown only acetaminophen causes neurodevelopmental problems.

While health experts recommend limiting the use of acetaminophen during pregnancy only if necessary, some of the most reassuring data comes from a study in 2022 in the journal The association for the mental health of the child and adolescents and a 2024 Jama study This examined nearly 2.5 million Swedish children born between 1995 and 2019. The two found no causal link.

The Swedish study found a marginal statistical association between the use by a person pregnant with acetaminophen and an increased risk of autism and an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). But this association has disappeared once the brothers and sisters in the same family whose mothers have done so or did not take acetaminophen have been compared, principal author Brian LeeAn epidemiologist at the Dornsife School of Public Health from Drexel University, wrote in an email at Live Science.

This makes it unlikely that acetaminophen cause autism. Rather, there are other factors, or confusion factors, which make people more likely to take the pain relievers during pregnancy and more likely to have an autistic child. “The association is not a causation,” said Lee.

What is probably behind the association is that people who take acetaminophen do it to treat a medical condition such as infection, a fever, headache or a migraine, and “all these factors have proven to be associated with the risk of autism in children,” said Lee.

In addition, scientists know that there is a large genetic component At autism, and women with genes that increase the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders tend to point out more pregnancy pain and use acetaminophen. This same genetic risk of neurodevelopmental disorder is transmitted to their child, added Lee.

Nevertheless, on September 22, the US Food and Drug Administration announced that it made a doctor’s opinion and would initiate a change of security label for acetaminophen, while the United States Ministry of Health and Social Services (HHS) will launch a public service campaign, Hhs announcement.