Pregnant women fighting 'like hell' against paracetamol?

After controversial claims from US President Donald Trump last year that paracetamol "is no good" and pregnant women should "fight like hell" not to take it, experts that conducted a new review have now spoken.

Taking paracetamol while pregnant is safe and there's no evidence it raises the risk of autism, ADHD and developmental issues in children, they say, adding that pregnant women "should feel reassured" by the findings.

The US President shocked many doctors worldwide when he and his administration claimed paracetamol or a branded version called Tylenol, an over-the-counter, go-to painkiller for pregnant women - could be linked to autism in children, if taken during pregnancy.

Those claims led to confusion among women and concern among health experts, and prompted this new research.

Published in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology & Women's Health, it looked at 43 of the most robust studies into paracetamol use during pregnancy, involving hundreds of thousands of women, particularly those comparing pregnancies where the mother had taken the drug to pregnancies where she hadn't.

The researchers say using these high-quality studies means they can dismiss other factors such as different genes and family environments, which makes their review "gold-standard."

"When we did this analysis, we found no links, there was no association, there's no evidence that paracetamol increases the risk of autism," lead study author and consultant obstetrician Professor Asma Khalil, told the BBC.

"The message is clear – paracetamol remains a safe option during pregnancy when taken as guided," she concluded.