Too much Tylenol in pregnancy could affect child's development, study finds

http://www.nbcnews.com/health/too-much-tylenol-pregnancy-could-affect-childs-development-study-finds-2D11644164

Kathryn Doyle Reuters
Nov. 22, 2013

Expectant mothers often take Tylenol, with the active ingredient acetaminophen, to deal with back pain, headaches or mild fevers during pregnancy. But frequent use may be linked to poorer language skills and behavior problems among their children, according to a new study.

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Close to 4 percent of women took Tylenol for at least 28 days total during pregnancy.

Their children seemed to have poorer motor skills than kids whose mothers had taken the drug fewer times or not at all. Tylenol-exposed kids also tended to start walking later, have poorer communication and language skills and more behavior problems.

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But this study, published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, involved a large number of women, and researchers also looked for any link to ibuprofen, a pain-relief alternative without acetaminophen.

They found no development problems tied to ibuprofen.

"Long-term use of (acetaminophen) increased the risk of behavior problems by 70 percent at age three," Brandlistuen said. "That is considerable."

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The developmental problems seen in this study align with symptoms of autism spectrum disorder, though the children had not been diagnosed at age three. Herbert has been studying the possible link between acetaminophen and the disorder for several years.

"I don't think it's a done deal," she told Reuters Health. She doesn't like to pin "the cause of autism" on any one thing, as many factors are likely involved.

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