The Trump Administration has announced false claims that taking paracetamol (or acetaminophen as it is known in the US, which is the main ingredient in Tylenol – one of the country’s biggest selling over-the-counter medicines) during pregnancy is linked to autism. US President Donald Trump has strongly urged people to avoid taking it during pregnancy. Here’s why this announcement is so damaging, on so many levels.
OPINION
US President Donald Trump made a “groundbreaking” – hope you can sense my eye-roll and sarcasm here – announcement today: The use of Tylenol during pregnancy increases the risk of autism.
In a press conference at The White House, Trump said he strongly recommends pregnant people not to use Tylenol, that instead they should “fight like hell not to take it” and that the only time they should take it is if “you can’t tough it out”. (Seriously, this whole idea of “tough it out” screams fragile and toxic masculinity to me.)
Never mind that scientific data refutes these claims, and experts reject his claims. Never mind that decades of evidence show it’s safe to use – it’s one of, if not the best and safest over-the-counter pain relief options during pregnancy.
It’s a dangerous claim to make, as pregnancy can already be a stressful and anxiety-ridden time, wondering if you’re doing the ‘right’ thing and following all the right rules.
While there is no evidence that paracetamol or Tylenol increase the risk of autism, there is evidence that untreated fevers in pregnancy (particularly early on) can cause birth defects.
The idea that people may think twice about taking paracetamol whilst they have a fever during pregnancy is highly concerning.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says paracetamol is safe to use – the Ministry of Health encourages pregnant people, and anyone who needs it, to control a fever.
“Paracetamol is safe,” he said today. “I encourage everybody, if you’re concerned, check out the Ministry of Health website. It’s completely safe.”
The other point of this that troubles me is, why the obsession over what the Trump administration has called the “Autism Crisis”?!? (I’m doing a deep sigh and cringing right now!)
Back in April, the controversial US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr – who has also suggested debunked claims that autism is linked to vaccines – committed to finding the cause of autism by September.
It comes as autism diagnoses have significantly risen from 1:150 in 2000 to 1:31 today, according to US Government figures.
But experts say this is due to better awareness of the condition and improved screening tools, which means healthcare systems are able to identify those that would have been previously missed or undiagnosed.
Science Says Otherwise
Australian doctor Hannah Kirk, senior lecturer in the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health at Monash University, says no study has shown that acetaminophen, the main ingredient in Tylenol, causes autism.
“Austism is a neurodevelopmental condition with no known single cause,” she says.
“Some studies have reported an association between acetaminophen use and autism, while others have not. Importantly, association does not mean causation.”
She refers to a recent large-scale Swedish study, which analysed data from 2.48 million births and found that when researchers compared siblings (a method to control for genetic and environmental factors) any apparent links between acetaminophen and autism disappeared.
Instead, what research actually shows, says Kirk, is that genetics play a large role, with hundreds of genes being linked to autism.
But, the US president doesn’t seem to be all too troubled with factual information, saying at the White House press conference: “There’s a rumour – and I don’t know if it’s true or not – that Cuba, they don’t have Tylenol because they don’t have the money for Tylenol. And they have virtually no autism.”
Great to know we’re working off solid intel here.
Dangers of Not Taking Tylenol for Pregnant People
The Trump administration making these large statements about pregnant people and autism is so harmful in so many ways.
One of which is that if pregnant people actually take his advice, “tough it out” despite having high fever, it could potentially lead to adverse pregnancy outcomes. As I mentioned, particularly in the first trimester, untreated high fevers can increase the risk of premature delivery and the baby developing birth defects such as neutral tube defects, heart defects and oral clefts.
Kirk says in many cases, treating a fever with acetaminophen may reduce adverse pregnancy outcomes, and that pregnant people should continue to follow the advice of their healthcare providers when managing pain and fever.
Stop Blaming Mothers and Birthing People
“[It] reinvigorates the long pattern of maternal shame and blame as we’ve seen re-emerge repeatedly over the last 70 years where we try to pay the fault of autism at the mother’s door one way or another.”
Now, I may not be a parent just yet, but I hear about pregnant people’s anxiety about making sure they do every single thing right so they don’t harm their unborn baby.
When I hear near-death experiences during labour, or miscarriages, or figuring out what drugs to take or not, there’s always talk of how mothers feel like they’ve failed.
Why is that? Because historically, mothers and birthing people would get blamed if their child was born with any medical illness or condition.
And this is exactly what the Trump administration is implying with this announcement.
Trump’s claims risks stigmatising families who have autistic children as “having brought it on themselves”, according to Dr Monique Botha, associate professor in Social and Developmental Psychology at Durham University.
“[It] reinvigorates the long pattern of maternal shame and blame as we’ve seen re-emerge repeatedly over the last 70 years where we try to pay the fault of autism at the mother’s door one way or another.”
Botha adds that pain relief for pregnant women is woefully lacking and paracetamol is a much safer pain relief option than basically any other alternative.
“We need to take pain seriously for women including whilst pregnant. The fear mongering will prevent women from accessing the appropriate care during pregnancy.”
Stop Stigmatising Autism
Another thing that really grinds my gears about this – especially with the Trump administration dubbing it as an “autism crisis” – is that being autistic and neurodivergent is inherently bad and it should be “fixed”.
Dr Hannah Waddington, senior lecturer at Victoria University of Wellington, says “this discussion about ‘causes and cures’ for autism is dangerous and damaging for the autistic community.
“The focus should instead be on increasing understanding and acceptance of autistic people.
“It is essential to listen to autistic people’s own priorities for autism research.”
