This antipyretic can be dangerous for the pregnant woman and the fetus: doctor

September 23rd in a scientific journal Nature reviews endocrinology An article was published stating that the antipyretic paracetamol must be taken with caution by pregnant women. Since it can cause negative consequences for the fetus. Known gynecologist Natalya Lelyukh In his post on Facebook, he writes that after that, she was simply bombarded with letters from pregnant women with the same question:

"I took paracetamol, what should I do next?"

The doctor explained in detail the content of the scientific article and whether paracetamol and pregnancy are really incompatible things.

First of all, Natalya Lelyukh recalled that, according to legal laws and ethical standards, full-fledged research on pregnant women and fetuses is impossible. In order to say something with high reliability (and this is far from 100%) about the effect of an individual drug, it is necessary to have ideal clinical conditions when there is a pregnant woman who lives in isolated conditions, with a separate diet, with the exclusion of the influence of other factors (ideally balanced air, water, temperature, no air travel, runny nose, stress at work, no influence of American vitamins and Instagram moms).

Moreover, it is necessary to immerse the newborn in the same conditions and hold it there until puberty in order to have a reliable result of the effect of the drug on the course of pregnancy, the formation of the child, sexual development and personality manifestations in puberty.

That is, the doctor leads to the fact that it is impossible to obtain absolutely reliable data on how a particular drug affects a pregnant woman and her baby.

Natalya Lelyukh said what is known now, as of the end of September 2021, about the effect of paracetamol on pregnancy.

1. Paracetamol / Acetaminophen has very high use rates: 65% of pregnant women in the US and more than 50% worldwide first aid kit). It is now an active ingredient in over 600 prescription and over-the-counter drugs.
2. This drug easily crosses the placenta and blood-brain barrier. In addition, during pregnancy, a woman changes the metabolic parameters of these drugs with the formation of toxic metabolites, which can also damage the embryo and fetus. But! Referring to existing data, scientists argue that with such massive use and relatively rare frequency of manifestations, it is obvious that not in all cases the effect of the drug they lead to unpleasant consequences.
3. According to the international consensus statement, which was printed on September 23, 2021 in Nature Reviews Endocrinology, pregnant women can use paracetamol / acetaminophen only for medical reasons and at the lowest effective dose for the shortest possible time.

This recommendation exists because evidence is accumulating that acetaminophen may affect fetal development, increase the risks of impaired development of the nervous system, reproductive system in all sexes.

He also began to be associated with potential behavior problems in children. Key words: MAY affect, not precisely cause, increase development risks, rather than definitely provoke.

It is also important to understand that no drug during pregnancy can be considered absolutely safe.

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