Pregnancy is a sensitive and difficult time for expectant mothers. They must be careful about what they eat and how long they are active. It is also advisable for them to avoid certain medications, unless they have been prescribed by a doctor. As you may know, what the mother consumes will eventually affect the child, so while something that the mother can handle can be fatal to the child as it is at a very vulnerable stage. As such, a few studies have suggested that consuming medications like paracetamol can affect the child’s brain. A new study published in the BioMed Central suggests that taking paracetamol (also known as acetaminophen) during pregnancy might be linked to a higher risk of autism and ADHD in children. This is a significant finding because paracetamol is a very common over-the-counter medicine that many pregnant women take for headaches, pain, or fever. Researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai looked at 46 past studies involving more than 100,000 people. They found that the better-quality studies were more likely to show a connection between using paracetamol during pregnancy and a child's risk of developing these disorders. How Does Paracetamol Affects Pregnancy And The Baby? The researchers believe there could be a biological reason for this connection. They explain that when a pregnant person takes paracetamol, the medicine can cross from their body to the baby. Once there, it might cause stress to the baby's cells, mess with their hormones, and even change how their genes behave. These changes could interfere with the normal development of the baby's brain. Since the number of autism and ADHD cases seems to be increasing around the world, these findings are very important. They could change how doctors and health officials think about the use of this common drug during pregnancy. Should Pregnant Women Take Paracetamol For Pregnancy? It's important to remember that this study does not prove that paracetamol directly causes autism or ADHD. However, the evidence is strong enough to raise concerns about how much it's being used. Because of these findings, the study's authors suggest that pregnant women should use paracetamol with caution, for a short period of time, and only under a doctor's guidance. They also say that more research is needed to fully confirm these results and understand the risks. Is This Accurate For All Children? While it is ok to be cautious, there are other studies that do not draw the same conclusion. A 2024 study published in the JAMA network found no such link. The study suggested that using paracetamol during pregnancy does not increase a child's risk of developing autism, ADHD, or intellectual disability. This finding goes against some previous studies and is important for managing pain and fever during pregnancy. The study, which looked at over 2.4 million children born in Sweden, found that a direct link could not be made when other factors were considered. What the Sibling Study Showed When the researchers compared the siblings, they found no evidence that paracetamol use during pregnancy was linked to a higher risk of autism, ADHD, or intellectual disability. The risk for autism, ADHD, and intellectual disability was virtually the same in the exposed and unexposed siblings.The study found no connection even when mothers took more paracetamol.This suggests that the slight link found in the initial analysis was likely due to "confounding factors," meaning other family-related reasons—not the medication itself—were responsible for the difference in risk. For example, a mother with a certain condition that requires her to take paracetamol might also have a genetic trait that affects her children. In short, this new research provides strong evidence that paracetamol use during pregnancy is not a direct cause of these neurodevelopmental disorders.