Taking paracetamol – an over-the- counter treatment for pain relief – during pregnancy may impair the fertility of female offspring, a study has warned.
Researchers reviewed three separate rodent studies that report altered development in the reproductive systems of female offspring from mothers given paracetamol during pregnancy, which may impair their fertility in adulthood.
Paracetamol, or acetaminophen, is commonly taken by pregnant women worldwide.
Recent studies have linked paracetamol use during pregnancy with disruptions in the development of the male reproductive system but the effects on female offspring had not yet been investigated.
David Kristensen and colleagues from Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark, reviewed findings from three individual rodent studies that evaluated the effects of paracetamol taken during pregnancy on the development of the reproductive system in female offspring.