For those having boys..

[kitten30]

www.channel4.com/news/painkillers-in-pregnancy-risk

ooh just came across this. I have been taking the odd paracetamol for SPD..might have to knock that on the head and just suffer.

i've taken about 6/8 this pregnancy, puts you off taking them doesnt altogether doesnt it :(

Its so annoying though as my GP was saying to me 'oh your not really taking anything, oh painkillers are safe dont be letting yourself suffer'. I am sure the baby will be fine but now if his testicles are not descended I will feel responsible. At least they can tell you that when they examine them.

i wouldnt of thought a few paracetamols could do any harm

I may be wrong, but I get the impression that the increased risk is linked to SIMULTANEOUS use of paracetamol and NSAIDs...

Yes it is but they are saying that taking any painkillers at all also increases the risk but not as much as simultaneous use of nsaids and paracetamol which just increases it much more.

it seems breathing too quickly while pregnant could also do untold damage to our babies

over it! i have SPD (am 38+3) and was prescribed codeine from Dr about a month ago, he told me it was safe - but i still only took v occasionally. saw another doctor who told me not to take it, only for midwife to tell me off for suffering and not sleeping for not taking it!
i give up

thank you, kitten! pretty scary stuff... you just never know if there is a new research coming out. i suppose the best thing is to take absolutely nothing and give natural birth. the more research i read, the more worried i get... wishing you all good pregnancies!

well i'd be interested in seeing the actual size of the study and how it was performed and whether other factors were taken into consideration

given peoiple's differing lifestyles i am uncertain as to how they can pinpoint analgesics as a potential cause tbh!

bearing in mind you can give babies paracetamol it seems a bit weird...

the bbc article on the same story suggested it wasn't just COMBINED use it was also PROLONGED use. SO the odd paracetomol isn't a risk, and even JUST paracetomol for longer is such a slight risk as to be statistically insignificant.

I think

it would be helpful if they linked to the study so people could read it, rather than just scaremongering

I think it is more of a risk for taking too many like excess of alcohol can cause foetal alchohol syndrome.
I wish the media would give facts, research materials etc rather than scaremongering. the NHS advises asprin to prevent pre eclamsia, and the daily mail says in one article asprin can help IVF treatments working in another says it will increase the chance of miscarriage.
I appreciate paracetomol is different but you can only go by your doctors/midwifes advice.
If this research is fully tested it should be available but sometimes it is a case of very small tests and percentages but the slight majority is used to scare people!

I would say it sounds like the Daily Mail however this story has been on Channel 4 and the BBC that I have seen.

The BBC doctor yesterday was saying paracetamol is fine. The study was looking at multiple self-reported painkiller use, including aspirin and ibruprofen, which GPs do not advise taking in pregnancy in the UK. Scary study is badly reported and basically, pointless. Stop worrying.

The report I read in the Guardian suggested the risk was greatest in thesecond trimester and was as Miffster says. The article gives details of the study and if you're worried:

"It is worth noting the researchers found a significant difference when women had used painkillers for two weeks or more and that the impact was greatest when taking them during their second trimester. Clearly further research is needed as a matter of priority." Dr Allan Pacey, senior lecturer in andrology at the University of Sheffield

To be honest I am not too worried however now DH expects me not to take any form of pain relief for SPD. I wouldnt mind I havent touched a drop of alcohol or smoked a single fag since trying for a baby and during the whole pregnancy. I would like to think he thought I was responsible enough to make my own assesment of risk. This is the annoying thing with studies like this!

Media scare-mongering as usual. And poor scientific journalism.

I thought that NSAIDs werent recommended during pregnancy? I often used to take paracetamol and ibuprofen simultaneously. But obviously not in pregnancy.

Seems a bit of a pointless article if women are not advised to take NSAIDs anyway!

Yes but they are saying even one paracetamol is a risk. Here women are advised against NSAID's but paracetamol is said to be safe.

I would assume that Paracetamol has been through enough clinical trials by now for it to be safe. The MHRA are particularly hot on gestational problems since Thalidomide.

This link would surely have been picked up before now if it really existed.