Pregnant women can take paracetamol without worry. A comprehensive review of 43 rigorous studies involving hundreds of thousands of women found no evidence that the painkiller increases the risk of autism, ADHD, or developmental delays in children.
The analysis, published in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology & Women's Health, examined some of the most robust research available on the topic. Researchers deliberately excluded lower-quality studies that couldn't account for important differences between mothers — the kind of methodological rigor that matters when millions of pregnant women might change their behavior based on the findings.
"When we did this analysis, we found no links, there was no association, there's no evidence that paracetamol increases the risk of autism," said lead researcher Professor Asma Khalil, a consultant obstetrician. The finding directly contradicts claims made by the Trump administration in early 2025, which suggested a link between the drug and autism and urged pregnant women to largely avoid it.
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Start Your News DetoxWhy This Matters
Paracetamol (acetaminophen in the US) is the painkiller most doctors recommend during pregnancy because alternatives like ibuprofen carry their own risks. When unproven claims about its safety circulate, pregnant women face an impossible choice: manage pain with a medication they've been told to fear, or suffer without relief. That kind of uncertainty can have real consequences — untreated pain and fever during pregnancy carry their own risks.
Experts not involved in the research have welcomed the findings. "I hope the findings of this study bring the matter to a close," said Professor Grainne McAlonnan from King's College London. The US Food and Drug Administration acknowledged in its own statement that a causal relationship between paracetamol and autism "has not been established," though the damage to public confidence had already been done.
The UK's health authorities have consistently maintained that paracetamol remains the safest painkiller available to pregnant women. This new evidence provides the kind of definitive backing that can help reassure the millions of women who need pain relief during pregnancy — and help push back against medical claims that lack scientific support.
