We know: during pregnancy, self-medication is a dangerous reflex that can harm the health and development of the future baby. Many drugs are also contraindicated in pregnant women and, among them, ibuprofen.
Frequently used against pain and fever, this non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug would harm the fertility of future girls from the first trimester of pregnancy: this is the conclusion of a new French study conducted by Inserm researchers who published their results in the specialized journal Human Reproduction.
To come to this conclusion, the researchers worked with ovarian tissue taken from 185 fetuses between 7 and 12 weeks of development. Through several experiments, they discovered that ibuprofen could cross the placental barrier and disrupt the growth of cells that later form ovarian follicles – these are the “little bags” in which the essential oocytes develop. to reproduction.
Early menopause and infertility
Concretely, the fetal tissues exposed for 7 days to concentrations of 10 μM of ibuprofen developed approximately 2 times fewer ovarian cells than the others.
“A poorly stored initial reserve of follicles will result in a shortened reproductive life, early menopause or infertility, events that occur decades later in life,” explains Dr. Séverine Mazaud-Guittot, researcher at Inserm of Rennes and main author of this study.
According to the researchers, 30% of pregnant women would use ibuprofen during the first 3 months of their pregnancy.
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