long term paracetamol

[contractor6]

Hello all

Just seen this on BBC and posting for info
www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-32808969

Yes I can't help but be concerned about this because doctors regularly tell us its a safe drug to take during pregnancy. Thing is though, the study was done on mice, it's not necessarily relevant to us humans. It seems to me that its another scare story and there's not a huge amount of evidence to support it.

However, saying that, I'm not going to be taking it myself anymore. I know I'm having a boy and that's the worry apparently. But I have the luxury of not needing it all the time, only for an occasional headache! I guess its the same as everything else- if you can do without, do without. But if the benefit of taking it outweighs the risk ( which may not be very high) keep taking it?

Its a tough one!

The mouse study showed one off / short term use was fine, so I think the concern is more of you are taking the max daily dose for seven days. One study on non human participants cannot prove or disprove anything fully.

But they are never going to do long-term research on pregnant women, as they can't ethically, they can only assess over a long-period if there is an incidence of problems. So they test on mice to raise points that might need checking and advising on...

This research has been around for a few years, I was pregnant in late 2012/early 2013 with DC2, and I knew about this risk then...

I suppose it all needs to be looked at on a "do I really need this" rather than just popping a pill in for a mild headache, that would probably go with a pint of water. But if you do have long-term health conditions that require regular pain medication, see your doc for up to date advice...