At a Glance
- A major review in The Lancet finds no link between acetaminophen in pregnancy and autism
- President Trump and HHS Secretary Kennedy urged pregnant women to “fight like hell” to avoid Tylenol
- Why it matters: Parents facing fever or pain now have clear evidence the medication is safe
A sweeping new analysis published Friday dismantles the White House claim that pregnant women should shun Tylenol to protect their babies from autism. The seven-author review, appearing in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology & Women’s Health, examined 43 high-quality studies and found zero evidence that acetaminophen-the drug’s active ingredient-causes autism, ADHD or intellectual disability.
How the Review Was Done
The international team, based in the U.K., Italy and Sweden, built a fortress of evidence using three filters:
- Excluded any study lacking a comparison group of pregnant women who did not take the drug
- Rejected research that relied on mothers’ memory alone; only medical records or clinician-checked questionnaires qualified
- Zeroed in on sibling-comparison studies-the gold standard for ruling out genetics, income or home-environment bias
All three approaches reached the same verdict: no connection.
Fallout From the White House Warning
“Don’t take Tylenol. Don’t take it. Fight like hell not to take it,” President Trump declared in September, standing alongside Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The pronouncement triggered a flood of anxiety.
“The day after this declaration, actually, we had a massive increase in phone calls and emails from women,” said Dr. Francesco D’Antonio, fetal-medicine professor at Italy’s University of Chieti and co-author of the new paper. Colleague Dr. Asma Khalil, consultant at London’s St. George’s Hospital, emphasized that untreated fever can endanger both mother and baby, making safe fever control critical.
What the FDA Really Said
Trump has since doubled down on social media, yet the FDA letter he unveiled merely advised doctors to “consider minimizing the use of acetaminophen” while still calling it the safest over-the-counter option for pain or fever during pregnancy. The agency labeled the autism link “an ongoing area of scientific debate.”
Critics of the New Paper
An HHS spokesperson dismissed the review, arguing it “engineers” a no-effect finding by excluding evidence. The department continues to cite a 2024 Environmental Health review led by Harvard’s Dr. Andrea Baccarelli that reported an association. Independent scientists counter that Baccarelli’s paper reviewed far fewer studies and failed to control for confounding variables.
Outside Experts Weigh In
Four unaffiliated researchers praised the Lancet work:
- David Mandell, University of Pennsylvania psychiatry professor: “I don’t think there’s a better way to analyze the data.”
- Alycia Halladay, Autism Science Foundation: “The question has been answered… We can stop talking about this now.”
Key Takeaways
- Acetaminophen remains the first-line treatment for pain or fever in pregnancy
- The new “gold-standard” review involved thousands of pregnancies tracked via medical charts, not recall
- Claims that Tylenol causes autism originated from smaller studies that did not adjust for genetics or environment
- Health authorities still recommend minimizing unnecessary use, but stress the drug’s overall safety when needed
