How to reduce your child's risk of ADHD -- before birth
A 2024 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that around one in nine kids, ages 3 to 17, have been diagnosed with ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) and that's over a million more than were identified with the condition in 2016.
Better recognition of the condition may be one reason for the increase, but it may also result from increased exposure in utero to substances that cause neurological changes. One startling new finding is that when pregnant women take acetaminophen -- and up to 70% do -- their child has a greatly increased risk of developing ADHD.
Researchers followed 307 women for eight to 10 years. They found that 9% of children born to women who didn't take acetaminophen during pregnancy developed ADHD, but 18% of children of women who used acetaminophen were diagnosed with the condition. The association was even greater with daughters -- if they were exposed in utero to acetaminophen, they were over six times more likely to have ADHD. The long-standing advice that acetaminophen is safe to take during pregnancy should be reconsidered, according to the study in Nature Mental Health.
So, how can you safely control physical discomfort while pregnant? Cleveland Clinic advises regular exercise that stretches and strengthens muscles, elevating your feet while sitting, sleeping on your side with a pillow between your knees, and using gentle heat and massage therapy. Proper nutrition may also help: Calcium in foods like milk, broccoli and a good prenatal vitamin can reduce cramping and pain. And for more info on a healthy pregnancy, read our book "YOU: Having a Baby."
Dr. Mike Roizen is the founder of www.longevityplaybook.com, and Dr. Mehmet Oz is global advisor to www.iHerb.com, the world's leading online health store. Roizen and Oz are chief wellness officer emeritus at Cleveland Clinic and professor emeritus at Columbia University, respectively. Together they have written 11 New York Times bestsellers (four No. 1's).
(c)2025 Michael Roizen, M.D.
Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
(c) 2025 Michael Roizen, M.D. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
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