Mums warned that painkillers can raise the risk of stillbirth
PREGNANT women who take common painkillers are more likely to suffer serious complications including stillbirth and birth defects, an alarming study has revealed.
Mothers-to-be who take over-the-counter medication such as paracetamol and ibuprofen are, overall, one-and-a-half times more likely to have complications than those who do not take them.
The Scottish experts behind the research urged pregnant women to consult their doctor or midwife before taking painkillers. Current NHS advice is for pregnant women to avoid taking ibuprofen, but that paracetamol is safe. However, the Aberdeen University researchers say the guidance needs ‘urgent updating’ in the wake of their findings.
Up to around 80 per cent of Scottish women take painkillers for common pregnancy symptoms, flu and rheumatological conditions.
More than 151,000 pregnancies in the Aberdeen area were analysed over a 30-year period for those who had taken five common painkillers: paracetamol, aspirin and three non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), ibuprofen, diclofenac and naproxen.
While regulators have said paracetamol is safe for pregnant women to take, they have warned about taking NSAIDs after week 30.
NHS Inform, Scotland’s online health information service, states that pregnant women ‘can take paracetamol safely’.
It adds: ‘Ideally, pregnant women shouldn’t take ibuprofen unless a doctor recommends it.’
Study leader Aikaterini Zafeiri, PhD researcher from Aberdeen’s Medical School, said: ‘The ease of
‘Raises safety concerns’
access to non-prescription painkillers, in combination with availability of misinformation as well as correct information through the internet, raises safety concerns.’
She added: ‘It should be reinforced that paracetamol in combination with NSAIDs is associated with a higher risk and pregnant women should always consult their doctor or midwife before taking any over-the-counter drugs.’
Overall, nearly three in ten women in the study had taken over-thecounter analgesics during pregnancy, rising to 60 per cent in the last seven years, 2008-15. Up to 83 per cent took such pills in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. The team found those who took painkillers were 64 per cent more likely to have a baby with neural tube defects, which include spina bifida, and 56 per cent more likely to have a baby dying after birth.
In addition, the women were 50 per cent more likely to have a premature delivery and 33 per cent more likely to have a stillbirth.