According to new research it is believed that women who take large quantities of paracetamol during their pregnancy run the risk of their child developing asthma.
The news comes as a team of scientists from the UK and Norway claim to have found a link between asthma in babies and women who take the drug during pregnancy. The new research, part of the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study, has shown that women who take a significant amount of paracetamol for a number of ailments during the duration of their pregnancy are more likely to increase the risk of their little one developing the condition.
During the extensive study, the team of scientists looked at a number of different conditions that arose among a group of women during pregnancy, which they treated without the use of paracetamol. The researchers then monitored the rate of the development of asthma in their children between the ages three and seven.
The team of scientists extensively looked at the probability of how asthma was to arise after bouts of pain, fever or flu among the mothers – which are the three most common reasons for taking paracetamol whilst pregnant. The research found that 5.7% of the children developed asthma by the age of three. The results mean that scientists were definitively able to establish a direct link between the condition and their mothers’ paracetamol consumption during their pregnancy.
Speaking about the recent findings, Dr Maria Magnus told the International Journal of Epidemiology: “Uncovering potential adverse effects is of public health importance, as paracetamol is the most commonly used painkiller among pregnant women and infants .”
Although, Dr Magnus insisted that the recent findings do not require women to make any changes to their instructed to use of paracetamol during their pregnancy.