In a recent White House press conference, President Donald Trump advised pregnant women to significantly limit their use of Tylenol, the brand name for acetaminophen, citing an alleged increased risk of autism in children. The President stated that the FDA would be notifying physicians about this perceived risk, urging caution unless dealing with a high fever. This announcement has sparked considerable debate, with many medical experts and international health organizations pushing back against the claims, emphasizing that scientific evidence does not support a causal link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and autism.

The President's remarks, made alongside Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., relied on existing studies but presented them as definitive evidence of a link between Tylenol and autism. This stance has been met with strong opposition from the medical community, with organizations such as the European Union's European Medicines Agency, the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration issuing statements asserting that there is no new evidence to support such a connection. These global health bodies maintain that acetaminophen (paracetamol outside the U.S.) remains an important and safe option for managing pain and fever in pregnant women.

Kenvue, the company that now owns Tylenol, has also disputed any link between the drug and autism, warning that discouraging its use could pose health risks to expectant mothers. They argue that acetaminophen is the safest pain reliever option for pregnant women and that avoiding it when necessary could lead them to suffer through conditions like fever, which can be harmful to both mother and baby, or resort to riskier alternatives. The company's stock experienced a significant drop following the announcement but has since shown signs of recovery.

Medical experts have highlighted the complexity of research into autism, noting that while some studies have suggested a possible association between acetaminophen use and neurodevelopmental disorders, these often involved smaller groups and did not establish a causal relationship. Larger, more robust studies, including one that followed nearly 2.5 million children in Sweden over 25 years, have found no increased risk of autism or other neurodevelopmental disorders associated with acetaminophen use during pregnancy. These experts emphasize that it is difficult to disentangle whether any observed association stems from the medication itself or from the underlying conditions, such as fever or pain, that prompt its use.

The FDA has initiated the process for a label change for acetaminophen products to reflect the evidence suggesting a potential association with increased risk of neurological conditions like autism and ADHD in children. However, the agency also noted that a causal relationship has not been definitively established and acknowledged that high fevers during pregnancy can pose risks to children. Despite the FDA's action, many health professionals, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, have labeled the suggestions of a link as "irresponsible" and stated there is "no clear evidence" supporting such claims.