New study on acetaminophen use in pregnancy

whoberry · February 2014

DH heard about this on the news last night so I checked out some articles on it. They're saying there may be a link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and ADHD. Here's one of the articles: https://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/use-of-acetaminophen-during-pregnancy-250121.aspx

I thought it was interesting so I wanted to share.

diagonalley · February 2014

Well, I guess I am thankful I haven't needed to take Tylenol that often this pregnancy. It will be interesting to see what else they come up with continuing this study.

wtfisup · February 2014

Everything has been linked to autism and ADHD. One reason is because those are relatively new diagnoses and how they're identified and defined is itself expected to change.

One day I told my mom the baby was moving a lot (happy stuff, right?) and she replied, "Are you worried she might have ADHD?" No, I'm not. I think she's a healthy fetus.

momof5sept18 · February 2014

wtfisup said:
Everything has been linked to autism and ADHD. One reason is because those are relatively new diagnoses and how they're identified and defined is itself expected to change.

One day I told my mom the baby was moving a lot (happy stuff, right?) and she replied, "Are you worried she might have ADHD?" No, I'm not. I think she's a healthy fetus.

This, every bit of this. They say everything and just about anything, cause ADHD. People are quick to label a kid with ADHD based on their activity level alone, more than their lack of paying attention. I've seen way too many kids put on Adderal and Ritalin that don't really need it just because they were more active than their older/younger siblings. So this isn't very shocking to me, unfortunately. Also, I've maybe taken Tylenol a dozen times during all of my pregnancies combined.

ElTrain5 · February 2014

This is the same study I posted before. Poorly done research=needless panic.

MrsAMB07 · February 2014

Like with anything in pregnancy, use common sense. It wasn't a controlled study. They didn't look at other factors that the mothers had in common, just the Tylenol.

ricecakes1216 · February 2014

My friend texted me the other day freaking out about this. Like a PP said, people are always wanting to point fingers at someone or something.

ElTrain5 · February 2014

@kaysa2 Let me know your thoughts on the full version. From the abstract and the articles I've read on this one it sounds incredibly shaky at absolute best. For this kind of a single study with what appears to be incredibly ambiguous results (i.e. no actual findings proving anything to disprove decades of solid research saying the opposite) to be getting this much press, just proves what news outlets are willing to do to easily exploitable populations (i.e. anxious pregnant women) to get site traffic. (The Bump pulled the same shit a few months ago). https://forums.thebump.com/discussion/comment/78720706#Comment_78720706

ElTrain5 · February 2014

Here are the original conflicting headlines from TheBump.com

BMaidPlanner · February 2014

My Mother never was told/heard of not being able to sleep on her back, eat deli meats, avoid certain seafoods, etc. She calls me when she hears about these things, completely surprised. I think eventually we'll also find out we "weren't supposed to" do/take/eat half of the things that are now considered safe.

Silvermystique13 · February 2014

Meh, my child will already have ADHD, as I have it, and my mother has it. As long as you know how to live with it, it's easily manageable.

LadyMacaron · February 2014

I saw this yesterday! Good thing I haven't taken much tylenol during pregnancy, but I really needed it last night with this ligament pain and I slept horribly. I guess I need to look for a drug free pain management aid.

I think they need to maybe consider that people are getting over diagnosed with ADHD, considering our numbers are higher than anywhere else by almost 30%. I really don't think all these kids have ADHD, they are just normal kids.

ElTrain5 · February 2014

mrsdbc said:

Here is that article I mentioned if anyone wanted to read it.

HOLY misinformation batman......

So according to this lady, not only ultrasounds, but also sugar, tap water and antibiotics cause autism. Right....

MarciP83 · February 2014

I crack up a little bit every time I read one of these articles. At this point, I think my baby will likely have ADHD, as well as a slew of other disorders, AND a third arm from all the meds I've had to take this pregnancy. Trying to stop preterm labor requires a ton of meds, all with major chemicals and side effects...so if Tylenol causes ADHD, I'm screwed. I've been on magnesium, procardia, terbutaline, zofran, phenergan, narcotic pain meds, Tylenol, ambien...and the list goes on. My previous two pregnancies I took no meds aside from some anti-nausea stuff early on...and I have a kid with Tourette's and (low and behold) a kid with emotional issues and ADHD. Sooooo...I'm interested to see what THIS kiddo comes out with. In all seriousness, it is definitely good to be informed and obviously the least amount of chemicals you can put in your body while pregnant/nursing, the better. BUT...my guess is this study will eventually be ruled largely inaccurate, just like most of it's predecessors.

SkyAngelMommy · February 2014

I dont know if it will help anyone but my dr said tylenol was okay, i dont think it has this ingredient in it

Ashes92813 · February 2014

@SkyAngelMommy, Tylenol does have Acetaminophen in it. It has been doctor approved for awhile for pregnancies and this study just came out this week.

As for the study, it's only one study. Which is trivial in the research world. I would like to see more long term studies performed to base a more accurate opinion on the matter. Now if we only had the funding to so so...

ahastin1 · February 2014

Sigh...well, I'm gonna go eat my sushi and deli sandwiches now.

Aaaaand I can't wait for parents to come running to my office tomorrow morning saying they took Tylenol when they were pregnant, so now I have I test their kids for ADHD because they can't concentrate in class.

ElTrain5 · February 2014

@kaysa2 Thank you for the summary! Yay Science!

Everyone please keep in mind...this is ONE study, and to my knowledge there have not been any other studies done that have shown the same connection...so don't freak out if you have taken/will take Tylenol. As with a lot of research, five years from now we may be sitting on 20 different studies that disprove this one (or not).

MollySm · February 2014

@kaysa2 - Thanks for posting about the real study. I had seen that it was well done, but hadn't read it myself. I definitely think more studies will be done, but this one (and any one on this topic) was so long term that it might take awhile before seeing any more. It will definitely make me rethink taking tylenol for headaches, though I will likely still take it in the case of a fever.

tbmadeamistake · February 2014

So wait, they say if taken for 20 weeks at a time....does that mean you take it every day for 20 weeks? Once a week, every week for 20 weeks? Occasionally over a 20 week period? I use tylenol as needed, probably not once a week, but I use it the entire 40 weeks of my pregnancy. I doubt that puts me as a "20 weeks at a time" user. The wording confuses me and I want to understand!!

tnd1218 · February 2014

ElTrain5 said:
This is the same study I posted before. Poorly done research=needless panic.

This it was also stated that this was not a closed study. So determining factors as to whether they had an illness or something that required the Tylenol was not known. Meaning something else could have been a factor other than the acetaminophen.

ElTrain5 · February 2014

@kaysa2 I gotta ask, what is your profession? You are seriously upping the intellect factor around here

tbmadeamistake · February 2014

Fabulous, because I just took some Tylenol so I could sleep tonight. Achiness and sleep do not mix well in this house.

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New study on acetaminophen use in pregnancy

IF, 5 losses, 1 son, 1 on the way.

Re: New study on acetaminophen use in pregnancy

Married DH 7/30/11

CSC arrived 5/7/12

CHC arrived 6/2/14

Married DH 7/30/11

CSC arrived 5/7/12

CHC arrived 6/2/14

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