Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Mar 9;126(3):032001.
doi: 10.1289/EHP2478.

Reproductive Headache? Investigating Acetaminophen as a Potential Endocrine Disruptor

Lindsey Konkel

Reproductive Headache? Investigating Acetaminophen as a Potential Endocrine Disruptor

Lindsey Konkel. Environ Health Perspect. .
No abstract available

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Photograph of a woman in pain lying on a sofa
Women may use mild analgesics for many reasons during pregnancy: headache, fever, chronic joint pain, or an acute injury such as a sprain. “Any time that illness or pain impacts the underlying general health of the mother, there’s reason to take measures to alleviate that pain,” says family physician Lynn Lillie. Image: © andriano.cz/Shutterstock.
Photograph of women doing prenatal yoga
Acetaminophen, also known as paracetamol, is the only analgesic considered safe to use throughout pregnancy. Nonpharmacologic approaches such as prenatal yoga, massage, acupuncture, and meditation may help manage some forms of pain during pregnancy. Image: © laflor/iStockphoto.
Photograph of an infant boy grasping his mother’s finger
Multiple pregnancy studies have reported associations between maternal analgesic use and genital abnormalities in sons, although others reported weaker or no such associations. Less is known about potential effects in girls. Image: © Pikul Noorod/Shutterstock.
Photograph of a pharmacy aisle
In multiple surveys, large percentages of women have reported taking acetaminophen at some point during pregnancy. But because acetaminophen is found in hundreds of products, prospective mothers may not realize they have even taken it. Image: © mandritoiu/Shutterstock.
Photograph of woman holding a negative pregnancy test
In addition to acetaminophen exposure in utero, exposures at other points in life should be assessed for potential reproductive effects. One preliminary study suggested that a couple’s time to pregnancy could be affected by the male partner’s exposure to acetaminophen. Image: © RuslanDashinsky/iStockphoto.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Servey J, Chang J. 2014. Over-the-counter medications in pregnancy. Am Fam Physician 90(8):548–555, PMID: 25369643. - PubMed
    1. Kristensen DM, Mazaud-Guittot S, Gaudriault P, Lesné L, Serrano T, Main KM, et al. 2016. Analgesic use—prevalence, biomonitoring and endocrine and reproductive effects. Nat Rev Endocrinol 12(7):381–389, PMID: 27150289, 10.1038/nrendo.2016.55. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Chambers C. 2015. Over-the-counter medications: risk and safety in pregnancy. Semin Perinatol 39(7):541–544, PMID: 26452317, 10.1053/j.semperi.2015.08.009. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Brune K, Renner B, Tiegs G. 2015. Acetaminophen/paracetamol: a history of errors, failures and false decisions. Eur J Pain 19(7):953–965, PMID: 25429980, 10.1002/ejp.621. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Newbronner E, Atkin K. 2017. In press. The changing health of Thalidomide survivors as they age: a scoping review. Disabil Health J, PMID: 29109034, 10.1016/j.dhjo.2017.09.004. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources