- Acetaminophen (paracetamol) is the most-commonly used analgesic in pregnancy, is widely held to be safe in pregnancy, particularly when compared with other analgesics including NSAIDs and opioids.
- Recent, this safety profile has been called into question, with the US Food and Drug Administration (citing several small studies) specifically raising concerns regarding a possible association between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and the development of autism-spectrum disorders.
- This systemic review and meta-analysis investigated possible associations between prenatal acetaminophen exposure and the development of autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, and intellectual disability.
- In their systemic review, the authors identified 43 studies that examined potential associations between prenatal acetaminophen exposure and development of autism and related neurodevelopmental conditions.
- For their meta-analysis, the authors focused on sibling-comparison studies, i.e. studies that compared outcomes when one sibling was exposed to acetaminophen in utero and the other was not. Upon analyzing these studies, the authors found that there was no association between prenatal acetaminophen exposure and the development of autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, or intellectual disability.
- Additionally, when analyzing further studies deemed to be at low risk for bias and/or having at least 5 years of follow-up, the authors found no evidence that maternal acetaminophen use was associated with the subsequent development of these conditions in their children.
- The authors concluded that extant high-quality evidence does not support any association between in utero acetaminophen exposure and the development of autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, or intellectual disability.
Summary of "Prenatal paracetamol exposure and child neurodevelopment: a systematic review and meta-analysis"
Summary published February 23, 2026
