President Donald Trump has ignited a storm of concern in the medical community after suggesting a link between Tylenol use in pregnancy and autism — a claim that leading researchers say is unproven and potentially dangerous.
Speaking from the Oval Office on Monday, Trump said doctors in the United States would soon be advised against prescribing the popular pain reliever, known elsewhere as paracetamol, to expectant mothers. He urged women to “fight like hell” to take it only in cases of extreme fever.
The comments drew immediate pushback. Tylenol’s maker, Kenvue, said in a statement that the science “clearly shows acetaminophen does not cause autism” and warned that denying pregnant women safe pain relief could leave them vulnerable to fever and more harmful alternatives. Health officials in the United Kingdom also emphasized that paracetamol remains the safest option available during pregnancy.
Trump’s announcement came alongside Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would begin reviewing safety labels and issue a notice to physicians. Kennedy added that the agency would also promote leucovorin, a decades-old chemotherapy drug, as a possible therapy for autistic children with folate deficiencies.
FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said preliminary studies suggest leucovorin may help improve verbal communication in some children with autism. But researchers stress the evidence remains limited, drawn from a handful of small trials, and far from conclusive.
The Autism Science Foundation noted that while some studies have linked low folate levels in early pregnancy to higher autism risk, others have found no clear association. Trials with leucovorin have shown mixed results. “This is science in its earliest stages,” the group said, cautioning against sweeping claims.
Trump framed the rise in autism diagnoses as a “horrible crisis” and promised a rapid push to identify causes within months. Yet experts have long stressed that autism is not the result of a single factor but a complex interplay of genetics and environment.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists issued a rare rebuke, saying Trump’s remarks “dangerously oversimplify” neurological conditions and could undermine decades of medical guidance. For now, most professional bodies continue to recommend acetaminophen as one of the few safe painkillers during pregnancy.
Africa Digital News, New York
