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Updated: Jan 27, 2026

Isolation of Leukocytes from the Human Maternal-fetal Interface
Published on: May 21, 2015
Comparison of fetal growth by maternal prenatal acetaminophen use
Melissa M Smarr1,2, Joe Bible3, Nicole Gerlanc4
1Division of Intramural Population Health Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD, USA. melissa.smarr@emory.edu.
Background:
Equivocal findings exist regarding prenatal acetaminophen use and various adverse neonatal and childhood health outcomes, though with no data on fetal growth. We evaluated whether fetal growth differed by maternal acetaminophen use.
Methods:
Racially diverse, healthy women with low-risk antenatal profiles from 12 US clinical centers were enrolled in a prospective cohort study and followed until delivery. Ultrasound measurements of fetal parameters and self-reported prenatal acetaminophen use were collected at enrollment and up to five follow-up visits. Prenatal acetaminophen use was dichotomized as none or any.
Results:
Among 2291 women, 932 (41%) reported the use of acetaminophen medications during the current pregnancy. Estimated growth curves of fetal parameters did not differ between women reporting use of any medication containing acetaminophen and women with no reported use of the same.
Conclusion:
Among healthy mothers with low-risk pregnancies, maternal acetaminophen use was not associated with alterations in fetal growth.
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