Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. directed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to direct its autism research toward potential environmental causes. The Society of Maternal-Fetal Medicine released novel clinical guidelines this week confirming that acetaminophen, better known by its brand name Tylenol, should be the “first line” of defense against pain and fever during pregnancy. (Photo: Max Nesterak/Minnesota Reformer)
The Society of Maternal-Fetal Medicine released novel clinical guidelines this week confirming that acetaminophen, better known by its brand name Tylenol, should be the “first line” of defense against pain and fever during pregnancy.
The directive contradicts a Trump administration notice to doctors last year that warned against the utilize of a basic painkiller recommended for pregnant women, following the president’s unsubstantiated claims that the drug could lead to autism in children.
The national professional association of specialists, clinicians and scientists in maternal-fetal medicine continues to recommend acetaminophen as a “first-line drug” for the treatment of pain and fever during pregnancy. The federal government’s statements prompted the organization to review its 2017 guidelines concluding that acetaminophen is protected for utilize during pregnancy.
Trump links autism to Tylenol utilize during pregnancy despite inconclusive scientific evidence
“Although some studies have found an association between maternal acetaminophen use and adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes in the offspring, methodological limitations prevent conclusions about causality, and the biological mechanism for such an effect remains undetermined,” the article says. statementafter a comprehensive review of recent and historical scientific literature.
The organization’s guidelines warn patients to “use the lowest effective dose of acetaminophen for the shortest possible duration,” while emphasizing that untreated maternal fever carries well-documented risks to the fetus, especially in the first trimester of pregnancy.
At press conference Last September, President Donald Trump stated that his administration had concluded that acetaminophen utilize during pregnancy was a probable environmental cause of autism.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. directed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to direct its autism research toward potential environmental causes.
Although medical experts and the drug’s manufacturer say so no verified linkThe FDA immediately announced that it would begin a trial regarding a change of label for Tylenol and similar products to “reflect evidence suggesting that acetaminophen use by pregnant women may be associated with an increased risk of neurological diseases such as autism and ADHD in children.”
The label does not changed yet. But the September press conference had consequences.
A month later, Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is running for U.S. Senate, sued Johnson and Johnsonaccusing the pharmaceutical company of failing to warn pregnant consumers about the risks of using Tylenol.
And study in Lancet published in March showed that orders for acetaminophen for pregnant patients dropped 10% in the months following Trump’s remarks, while orders for acetaminophen for comparable women who were not pregnant did not change.
Stateline reporter Sofia Resnick can be reached at: sresnick@stateline.org.
This story was originally produced by state linewhich is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network that includes the Ohio Capital Journal and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.
