Ibuprofen in pregnancy: it can damage the fertility of the newborn
Ibuprofen is an over-the-counter drug, available in pharmacies and parapharmacies without the need for a medical prescription.
It is commonly known under the name of Moment, Cibalgina, Nurefen, Brufen, etc.
It is often taken to counteract headaches or inflammation in general.
Even if you don’t need a prescription, it is still a drug with many side effects, which is why it is not recommended during pregnancy. (we add that it should also be avoided in the post-ovulatory phase when you are trying to get pregnant)
In particular, a recent study, published in the authoritative journal Human Reproduction , has highlighted that this over-the-counter painkiller, if taken even for just two days in the first three months of pregnancy, could cause irreversible damage to the baby you are carrying. particularly if it is a female .
According to Dr Séverine Mazaud-Guittot, who led the study by Inserm in Rennes in France, taking the tablets for two to seven days in the first three months of pregnancy could lead to a reduced fertility range, early menopause or infertility in girls that they carry on their lap.
Even if women stop taking the painkiller, the damage could be irreversible.
This is a long-term effect that has caused much concern and needs to be considered in the current recommendations on the consumption of ibuprofen during pregnancy
In fact, it is estimated that three out of ten women take the painkiller in the first three months of pregnancy.
I study
The study, which involved researchers from the universities of Edinburgh and Copenhagen, used aborted human fetuses aged between 7 and 12 weeks. The researchers cultured the ovarian tissue in the laboratory, exposing some of the samples to ibuprofen. A second group of samples was not exposed to the drug.
Samples from 185 aborted fetuses were analysed.
The results
The researchers measured the amount of ibuprofen in umbilical cord blood, aborted fetuses (the women had been asked to take ibubrofen before surgery), and saw that the ibuprofen crossed the placental barrier.
The concentration found in the umbilical cords of fetuses of mothers who ingested 800 mg (four 200 mg tablets) two to four hours before surgery is similar to the concentration found in the blood of adults who are exposed to the same treatment. In practice, the fetus is exposed to the same concentration as the mother.
The scientists found that tissue exposed to 10 micromolar concentrations of ibuprofen for one week had about half the number of ovarian germ cells.
It was seen that there were fewer cells to grow and divide, more cells died, and there was a dramatic reduction in germ cells, regardless of the gestational age of the fetus. Significant effects were seen after seven days of exposure to 10 micromolar ibuprofen and cell death as early as two days of treatment.
Five days after the cessation of ibuprofen exposure the harmful effects caused by the drug were not completely reversed.
Conclusions
This is the first study to test the effects of ibuprofen on ovarian tissue in girls and the first to demonstrate that ibuprofen can cross the placental barrier during the first trimester of pregnancy, exposing the fetus to the drug.
The implications of this finding are that, just as with any medication, the use of ibuprofen should be limited to the shortest duration and lowest dose needed to achieve pain or fever relief, especially during pregnancy.
The wisest advice would be to follow the currently accepted recommendations: paracetamol should be preferred over any anti-inflammatory drug up to 24 weeks gestation , and the latter should not be used thereafter.
Research will now focus on the mechanisms of action of ibuprofen on human ovaries and alternative pain relievers.
Long-term assumptions also require further clarification.
At this stage of the research it is not possible to say whether the reduced number of follicles in the tissue samples of the girls could translate into reduced fertility 30 years later. This hypothesis requires long-term follow-up studies on daughters of women who took ibuprofen in the first three months of pregnancy to be confirmed.
In the meantime, however, it is good to be careful, never take medicines without the advice of your doctor and since this research is very recent (January 2018) let your doctor always read the results mentioned above in case he prescribes it.
Kathryn Barlow is an OB/GYN doctor, which is the medical specialty that deals with the care of women's reproductive health, including pregnancy and childbirth.
Obstetricians provide care to women during pregnancy, labor, and delivery, while gynecologists focus on the health of the female reproductive system, including the ovaries, uterus, vagina, and breasts. OB/GYN doctors are trained to provide medical and surgical care for a wide range of conditions related to women's reproductive health.