A new study claims pregnant women who take painkillers like paracetamol will not increase the risk of their child developing asthma.
According to the new research, chronic pain may be the reason children develop asthma, not painkillers."Our interpretation of this is that it's less likely that drugs are responsible for the asthma. It seems another factor that we have not measured is linked to use of these drugs and asthma risk," lead author of the study Seif Shaheen, Professor at the Queen Mary University of London, told a news portal. Adding,"For example, women who are taking prescribed painkillers are likely to suffer from chronic pain."
The study, that involved close to 500,000 women, found the risk of asthma in children was almost the same in pregnant women who were prescribed opioids like tramadol or migraine medication. "Severe pain, and the stress that it causes, have profound effects on the body, including on levels of some hormones, and there is evidence for a link between high levels of mothers' stress in pregnancy and increased risk of asthma in the offspring," Shaheen explained.
Researchers hope their findings offer reassurance to pregnant women taking painkillers when prescribed by a medical professional because it is important to manage chronic pain.
The study was originally published in the European Respiratory Journal.
