Donald Trump warns of potential link between Tylenol use during pregnancy, autism risk

President Donald Trump announced on Monday, September 22, 2025, that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will notify doctors that the use of Tylenol during pregnancy can be linked with a “very increased risk of autism.”

Donald Trump was speaking at a news conference alongside US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA officials on Monday, September 22, 2025, at the White House.

However, according to the experts, decades of evidence show that its use is safe.

Trump said, “They are strongly recommending that women limit Tylenol use during pregnancy unless medically necessary,” such as to treat fever, if you can’t tough it out.”

However, experts believe science doesn’t show a link between autism and Tylenol, and therefore the issue remains unsettled.

According to experts, a fever can be dangerous for both the fetus and the pregnant person, and the risks of miscarriage, high blood pressure, and birth defects cannot be ruled out.

Studies show, at some point during pregnancy, most people use acetaminophen, sold under the brand name Tylenol.

Acetaminophen is the only considered safe over-the-counter option for pain or fever for pregnant women. Other common pain relief options like ibuprofen or regular-dose aspirin can increase the risk of serious complications during pregnancy.

Trump did not limit his comments only to Tylenol during pregnancy.

He recommended spacing out childhood vaccinations and delaying the hepatitis B vaccine for newborns.

It was a public health strategy that eliminated the infection in children up to age 12.

Trump said, “It’s too much liquid, too many different things are going into that baby.”

On the other hand, the FDA said it is beginning the process to change the safety label on acetaminophen products and sending a letter to physicians that says the choice to take Tylenol “still belongs with parents.”

The agency added further that although an association has been described in studies, “a causal relationship has not been established.”

The science on the link between Tylenol and autism remains unsettled.

A 2024 research paper that reviewed a Swedish study published in JAMA that included more than 2 million children didn’t find any linkage between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and autism or attention deficit disorder.

According to the latest numbers from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the number of people diagnosed with autism in the US has seen a steady rise. In 2022, about 1 in 31 kids were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder by age 8.

These numbers are high, up from 1 in 36 recorded in 2020, and just five years back, it was 1 in 68 children in 2015, according to available CDC data.