President Donald Trump announced in a Monday briefing that the US Food and Drug Administration will notify doctors that the use of Tylenol during pregnancy can be associated with a “very increased risk of autism,” despite decades of evidence that it is safe, per CNN.
“They are strongly recommending that women limit Tylenol use during pregnancy unless medically necessary,” such as to treat fever, “if you can’t tough it out,” Trump said.
Trump’s announcement stated that pregnant women should take acetaminophen only in cases of high fever and only sparingly. The president also said health officials will advocate using the prescription drug leucovorin, also known as folinic acid, as a possible treatment for those with autism.
Acetaminophen, often sold under the brand name Tylenol, had long been considered the safest option for managing headaches, fever and other pain during pregnancy.
Trump made the announcement with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Dangers of Trump’s claim
The event has drawn a flood of pushback from medical societies, autism organizations, and pediatric experts through official statements, interviews, and social media.
“It’s wild,” Colin Killick, executive director of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, said to the Washington Post. “They are playing loose with facts to show the appearance of a connection rather than doing responsible science,”
Theresa Miskimen Rivera, president of the American Psychiatric Association and clinical professor of psychiatry at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, expressed concern to the outlet about the mixed messages reaching the public and creating anxiety. Rivera urged individuals to talk with their doctors when deciding whether to take the medication — just as they would with any other drug.
The administration’s announcements are “very, very premature,” she said. “When you do that it’s endangering not only physical health but mental health.”
“The danger of announcing a bogus association… is that more women will take NSAIDs, which are actually associated with fetal harm,” Dr. Nick Mark, critical care physician, said.
Scientists and advocacy groups also argue that misinformation reinforces dangerous myths and stigmas about autism.
“This announcement dangerously oversimplifies the complex causes of neurological disorders in children… It’s highly unsettling to make such claims without reliable data,” Dr. Steven Fleischman, President, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said of Monday’s press briefing.