As anyone who knows me knows, I get headaches. A lot. Like a lot a lot. Certainly, it's gotten significantly better since I was diagnosed with Celiac disease but even so, I get them way more often than I'd like to. Of course, once a year is way more often than I'd like to but that's beside the point. The point is that I get headaches and my remedy of choice is Excedrin. Since Excedrin is a mix of acetaminophen, caffeine, and aspirin, it is not recommended that pregnant women take it. Up until recently, really the only thing that was recommended during pregnancy was acetaminophen (aka Tylenol). So that's what I took. I took it as sparingly as possible, but still, it was something I relied upon pretty heavily for those days when I'd get one that I just couldn't shake. Please note the phrase "up until recently." Waah :'(.
According to a study published in October of 2013 in the International Journal of Epidemiology, taking too much acetaminophen during pregnancy can cause a number of issues including developmental problems that align with symptoms of autism spectrum disorder. They state clearly that the topic needs further research, but it was enough to raise a few eyebrows. More compelling, though, is a February 2014 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Pediatrics, stating that "children whose mothers took acetaminophen while pregnant had up to a 40 percent higher risk of being diagnosed with ADHD..." This study appears to have been on a large sample and to have been pretty conclulsive. Now. That's only an increase in risk but an increased risk factor of 40%? Egads. That's HUGE. And more than enough to convince me that I should avoid it if at all possible.
So there went my only solace in the pregnancy fight against headaches. I've still taken it a couple of times when they've been particularly bad, figuring that a couple of times here and there won't make that much of a difference. I hope. But man. It's just so crazy how they change what they tell you. When I was pregnant with Henry, it was perfectly fine to take Tylenol. And my doctor tried to give me a prescription for Zofran (an anti-nausea medication) even though I wasn't sick. This time, I'm not supposed to take Tylenol and my doctor was very hesitant to give me a Zofran prescription when I asked for it because there have been a few studies suggesting that it may not be as safe as originally thought. I'm pretty sure that when my mom was pregnant with me, it was perfectly fine to have a few cigarettes and glasses of wine on any given day while you were pregnant to make sure you were good and relaxed. And you certainly weren't supposed to exercise! Goodness no! It's enough to make your head spin and wonder if any of it actually matters because, of course, we all turned out fine in spite of all the horrible things our parents did when we were children. I slept on my stomach when I was an infant. Gasp! Can you believe I survived?! I drank from BPA laced water bottles and ate goodness only knows how many trans fats in my Christmas cookies and peanut butter sandwiches. I guess we can only wonder how good we would have turned out if our parents were as brilliant as we are. And, of course, I can't help but wonder what sorts of terrible things I'm doing to my babies that Henry will one day come to find out is a complete horror. It's a wonder any of us survived.
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