Pregnant women who take the popular painkiller acetaminophen (Acephen, Actamin, Feverall, Tylenol, and Uniserts) may be boosting their baby’s risk of asthma, according to a new report.
But the findings should not be cause for alarm, says study researcher Richard Beasley, MD, professor of medicine at the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand. “It is still considered a safe drug to take and our findings don’t alter that recommendation.”
What is not known, he tells WebMD, is whether the link between the use of painkillers during pregnancy and asthma in the child is truly cause and effect.
“The message would be that this study raises some concern, and that it really reinforces the general principle to avoid unnecessary medication during pregnancy,” he says. “This [report] does not change the recommendation.”
Acetaminophen, called paracetamol in New Zealand, would ”remain as the preferred analgesic” to bring down fever in a pregnant woman, he says. “But we would caution against the regular use, particularly regular unnecessary use, during pregnancy.”
http://www.webmd.com/asthma/news/20110330/acetaminophen-in-pregnancy-link-to-babys-asthma