Doctors across the U.S. are fielding anxious questions from pregnant women after President Donald Trump claimed Tylenol use during pregnancy could cause autism—a claim many experts say is not backed by science.
At a White House press conference on Monday, Trump, alongside Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said his administration would add autism warnings to Tylenol labels. The announcement came despite a lack of conclusive evidence and has sparked alarm among expectant mothers.
Dr. Rana Alissa, a Jacksonville pediatrician, said women in her hospital’s newborn nursery were suddenly asking whether they had already harmed their babies. In New York and New Jersey, OB-GYN Dr. Rachel Blake reassured patients that “there has been no new research” warranting a change in guidelines.
Medical leaders have criticized Trump’s remarks, warning that such claims fuel guilt and fear among pregnant women. Dr. Sindhu Srinivas, head of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, said her group, along with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and autism advocacy organizations, have strongly rejected the president’s statements.
Drugmaker Kenvue, which sells Tylenol, emphasized that sound, independent science shows no causal link between acetaminophen and autism. Both the CDC and FDA have since issued warnings highlighting research gaps, but acknowledged no direct cause-and-effect relationship has been proven.
Globally, the EU, UK health agencies, and the World Health Organization also moved quickly to correct the record, affirming that acetaminophen remains the safest pain reliever during pregnancy when used sparingly.
Doctors warn that untreated fever or severe pain in pregnancy carries real risks—including birth defects, miscarriage, and preterm birth—making acetaminophen an essential option.
While some studies have suggested a possible association between Tylenol and autism, Srinivas noted that most had significant limitations, often failing to account for underlying conditions like fever, which itself is linked to neurodevelopmental problems.
Dr. Caitlin Baptiste, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Columbia University, stressed: “The risk of fever in pregnancy is very real … What we know is there is really no causal link between acetaminophen and autism.”
For maternal rights advocates like Erin Erenberg, the rhetoric from the Trump administration is especially harmful. She said undermining science-based guidance leaves women “vulnerable to misinformation,” at a time when caring for children with autism is already “exhausting, terrifying, alienating” for families.
