“Safe in pregnancy”: healthcare professional says about Tylenol after Trump comments

Canadian healthcare professionals are speaking out on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that taking Tylenol during pregnancy is linked to fetal autism and said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be adding a new warning label to the product.

“Acetaminophen absolutely is safe in pregnancy,” says Jaris Swidrovich from the University of Toronto.

“Let’s see how we say that… acetaminophen. Is that okay? Which is basically commonly known as Tylenol. During pregnancy can be associated with a very increased risk of autism,” Trump said Monday.

Trump also says the United States FDA will notify physicians of the change and begin the process of adding a warning label on products containing acetaminophen, like Tylenol.

“Don’t take Tylenol. There’s no downside. Don’t take it,” the U.S. president says.

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“With another two decades of research in this space, nothing has suggested the causal relationship between acetaminophen and autism,” Swidorvich says.

Researchers, including Dr. Jaris Swidrovich — an Assistant Professor in the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Pharmacy — says there’s no basis for Trump’s claims.

“There have been well over 100 reasons researched for why autism might exist, but it’s inaccurate and perhaps harmful assumption to associate it with one single medication, like acetaminophen. Which again the research doesn’t even suggest as one of the reasons why autism happens,” Swidorvich says.

According to a 2019 report from Public Health Canada, around two per cent of Canadians below the age of 18 have been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

“It’s unfortunate that a person of authority makes such a potentially harmful comment about something that is not scientifically proven and has never been scientifically proven. People might end up making their own decisions without their physician, nurse practitioner or pharmacist in a way that harms them instead of protecting them,” says Swidorvich.

Healthcare providers say pregnant people should speak with a doctor or pharmacist before taking any medication, including acetaminophen especially since some other medications, like ibuprofen, are generally not recommended.

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