Can anti-inflammatory drugs like Advil raise your risk of miscarriage?

Ibuprofen is so common nowadays that it seems harmless, but a new study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal showed that taking it and other NSAIDs may more than double the risk of miscarriage in early pregnancy.

NSAIDs stands for nonaspirin nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and includes painkillers like ibuprofen (found in Advil and Motrin), naproxen (found in Aleve), diclofenac and celecoxib (Celebrex). The drugs are commonly used in pregnancy. The new study looked at 4705 miscarriages up to the 20th week of pregnancy and found that 7.5 percent were in women who had taken NSAIDs. Only 2.6 percent of women in the control group, who did not miscarry, had taken the drugs. The women ranged in age from 15 to 45 years old, and the data came from the Quebec Pregnancy Registry.

The researchers advised women to use NSAIDs in pregnancy with caution, based on their results, but others are not yet convinced of a link. Gideon Koren, director of the Motherisk program at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children told the Globe and Mail said that zeroing in on a particular type of drug is hard, and that women who were prescribed a particular medication did not necessarily take the drugs. "The problem is that type of study does not prove anything, but they scare the hell out of women and health professionals."

As with all medications, talk to your doctor about new research and your concerns before you make any changes.