Is It Safe to Take Advil (Ibuprofen) During Pregnancy?

When pregnant, it might be overwhelming trying to find out which medications are secure to take. Advil (ibuprofen) is a commonly used medication for pain and fever relief, but it surely’s not beneficial to take while pregnant. However, there are alternatives to pick from.

You should avoid taking ibuprofen for those who are 20 weeks or more pregnant. Taking ibuprofen after the twentieth week of pregnancy may cause poor kidney function and other complications within the fetus.

It’s unclear if taking it early in pregnancy (before 20 weeks) will affect the fetus. For this reason, the popular treatment for pain while pregnant is Tylenol or non-medication practices.

This article reviews why ibuprofen is probably not taken while pregnant and other treatment options to assist manage your pain while pregnant.

Can I Take Ibuprofen While Pregnant?

It’s not clear whether there are risks in taking it before 20 weeks of pregnancy, so it is best to limit or avoid NSAIDs during that point to be secure. Tylenol is an alternate option that is taken into account secure to take.

Taking ibuprofen at 20 weeks or later of pregnancy has been related to low levels of amniotic fluid (protective fluid surrounding the fetus), which signifies poor kidney function.

Ibuprofen is assessed as a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). NSAIDs are commonly used to treat pain, fever, and inflammation.

Examples of NSAIDs include ibuprofen, Aleve (naproxen), diclofenac, aspirin, and Celebrex (celecoxib).

If your healthcare provider beneficial ibuprofen as the very best option, it needs to be the bottom effective dose for not more than 48 hours.

What Can Happen If You Take Ibuprofen in Pregnancy?

Before week 20 of pregnancy

During the primary 20 weeks of pregnancy, ibuprofen could also be secure to soak up limited amounts. However, it’s unclear if using NSAIDs will cause harm to the fetus. Therefore, ibuprofen just isn’t the popular drug of alternative to assist manage pain or inflammation in pregnancy.

You can consider non-medication therapy or Tylenol as an alternative to assist manage your pain.

After week 20 of pregnancy

Case reports which have been submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) showed that fetuses who were exposed to NSAIDs within the womb after the twentieth week of pregnancy had low levels of amniotic fluid as a consequence of the fetus’s poor kidney function.

Amniotic fluid surrounds the fetus within the womb and is liable for developing the lungs, digestive system, and kidneys.

At week 20 of pregnancy, the fetus’s kidneys produce the amniotic fluid. Therefore, when given ibuprofen, the kidneys grow to be suppressed and can’t make the amniotic fluid needed for development.

Safer Alternatives to Ibuprofen

An over-the-counter (OTC) medication that’s secure in pregnancy is acetaminophen, also referred to as Tylenol.

While Tylenol is secure to make use of in pregnancy, there have been reports of sleep problems and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children on the age of three who were exposed to Tylenol within the womb.

However, more studies and evidence are needed to offer a direct correlation between using Tylenol in pregnancy and ADHD in children. Tylenol is usually considered secure and beneficial to take while pregnant.

Other Ways to Find Pain Relief

Non-medication pain management is the safest technique to reduce pain while pregnant. Talk to your healthcare provider before starting any of those pain management practices.

Common non-medication management for pain are listed below:

• Acupuncture
• Physical Therapy
• Yoga
• Massage
• Hydrotherapy (avoid hot tubs)

Summary

Taking ibuprofen at and beyond 20 weeks of pregnancy may cause poor kidney function within the fetus. As a result, the fetus cannot produce enough amniotic fluid to support their development and growth within the womb.

The safest technique to manage your pain while pregnant is thru non-medication practices resembling physical therapy, yoga, or massages. However, Tylenol can be a suitable option if non-drug methods fail to offer adequate relief.