Pregnant pause: New twist in paracetamol–asthma link

Other factors at play since other analgesics show similar increases, authors speculate
Lydia Hales
Paracetamol

The debate on whether taking paracetamol in pregnancy is linked to children’s asthma took a new turn this week, with researchers who first flagged the link finding similar effects with other analgesics.

An observational study of nearly half a million Swedish mothers and their children has found that while paracetamol use in pregnancy is linked to an increased chance of childhood asthma, the same is true for opioids and migraine medication, leading the researchers to speculate something else is to blame.