U.S. President Donald Trump's recent public warnings urging pregnant women to "fight like hell" not to take Tylenol (acetaminophen) have immediately triggered widespread concern among patients, prompting a flood of questions for doctors despite scant supporting scientific evidence.
At a White House press conference, Trump, flanked by health officials, warned of a link between the pain reliever and autism, announcing plans to add risk warnings to drug labels.
Patient Anxiety and Doctor Reassurance
The very next day, healthcare providers across the U.S. began fielding anxious questions:
Dr. Rana Alissa, President of the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, reported pregnant women asking, "What should I do? Do you think it's safe? I just took Tylenol last month. Do you think I already hurt my baby?"
Dr. Rachel Blake, an OB-GYN in New York and New Jersey, has been reassuring her pregnant patients that Tylenol remains safe, emphasizing that "There has been no new research that suggests there should be a change in that guideline."
Medical Community Pushback
Dozens of major medical, research, and autism advocacy groups, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and Tylenol maker Kenvue, have publicly decried the President's comments.
Kenvue maintains that independent, sound science shows the drug does not cause autism.
Dr. Sindhu Srinivas, president of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, noted that linking Tylenol use to autism only "heaps blame on pregnant women," who already experience significant guilt and fear about taking any medication.
The CDC and FDA issued warnings to providers, but added the crucial caveat that no causal relationship between acetaminophen and autism has been established.
European and British health agencies, along with the World Health Organization (WHO), have rushed to correct the record, uniformly stating there is no conclusive evidence linking the drug to autism.
The Risk of Untreated Fever
Doctors emphasize that while they counsel patients to use the least amount of Tylenol for the shortest time possible, it remains the only pain reliever considered safe during pregnancy.
Critically, untreated fever and pain during pregnancy pose a very real risk to the fetus, potentially leading to:
Birth defects
Preterm birth
Low birth weight
Miscarriage
Neurodevelopmental disorders (especially if fever occurs in the first trimester)
Experts like Dr. Caitlin Baptiste, a maternal fetal medicine specialist, stressed that the focus should be on evidence-based science, not adding unfounded worries that leave women vulnerable to misinformation.