Is Tylenol safe to take during pregnancy?
While United States President Donald Trump has linked autism with pregnant women taking painkiller Tylenol, past research has not found firm evidence of this.
Tylenol is displayed for sale behind a locked anti-theft barrier at a pharmacy in Washington, DC, US, on Sep 5, 2025. (File photo: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)
United States President Donald Trump on Monday (Sep 22) drew links between autism and women taking pain medication Tylenol while pregnant.
Tylenol, the widely used over-the-counter medication that is sold generically as acetaminophen in the US and as paracetamol in the United Kingdom, has been studied for potential links to the condition.
However, medical societies have cited data from numerous studies showing that acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, plays a safe role in the well-being of pregnant women.
Here’s what you need to know about what research has shown about the popular painkiller and the guidelines on taking it for pregnant women.
What does the research say about acetaminophen use during pregnancy?
There is no firm evidence of a link between the use of the drug and autism. Recent studies have yielded conflicting conclusions on whether its use during pregnancy might create risks for a developing fetus.
A 2024 study of nearly 2.5 million children in Sweden found no causal link between in utero exposure to acetaminophen and neurodevelopmental disorders like autism spectrum disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
A 2025 review of 46 earlier studies did suggest a link between prenatal acetaminophen exposure and increased risks of these conditions, but the researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Harvard University and others said the study does not prove the drug caused the outcomes.
They advised that pregnant women should continue to use acetaminophen as needed, at the lowest possible dose and for the shortest possible period.
Large 2025 studies from Europe and Japan have suggested that what might appear to be small associations between prenatal acetaminophen use and neurodevelopmental disorders might actually be due to confounders.
This refers to other underlying factors - such as environmental conditions, parents' health and genetics, other medications the mothers may have been taking and illness.
In a letter to physicians on the topic, the US Food and Drug Administration was more muted than Trump, stating that "a causal relationship has not been established" and that scientific debate was ongoing.
Britain's health regulator said on Monday it is safe to use the pain relief treatment paracetamol and that there is no evidence of it causing autism in children.
What are the medical guidelines for pregnant women?
Acetaminophen/paracetamol is the recommended first-line medication for pain and fever during pregnancy in guidelines from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), Britain's Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and other medical organisations.
Use of ibuprofen, naproxen and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in the third trimester can lead to birth defects, both societies warn.
Pregnant women should talk to their doctor if they plan to take any of these medications, ACOG advises.
Dr Steven Fleischman, president of the ACOG, expressed concern that Trump’s claims would terrify mothers-to-be and parents with children with autism.
“I don’t want you going back and looking and saying to yourself, ‘I shouldn’t have done this, I shouldn’t have done that.’ It’s nothing you did. It really is not,” he said.
“Not treating the fever probably has more adverse effects that you need to worry about than taking the medication.”
What are the risks of not reducing fever during pregnancy?
Trump said on Monday that pregnant people should "tough it out", and that only an "extremely high fever" would justify taking the over-the-counter medicine.
However, untreated maternal fever and pain during fetal development can increase the risks of birth defects such as heart conditions, abdominal wall defects and neural tube defects in which the brain and spinal cord do not form properly.
Untreated pain and fever have also been linked with preterm birth, low birth weight and miscarriage. They can also result in high blood pressure, dehydration, depression and anxiety, as well as other health problems, in pregnant women.
Arthur Caplan, the head of New York University's medical ethics division, called Trump's display "dangerous," "unscientific" and "full of misinformation".
"I worry that pregnant women are going to feel guilty if they took Tylenol. They're going to feel they let down their babies,” Caplan told AFP.
“They're going to feel that they were unethical in terms of trying to treat fever. That's just not fair, and it's not anything that anybody should be feeling.”
Why is the subject in focus now?
Assertions of a potential link have been a focus of lawsuits brought by parents and activists in the United States against retailers, charging they failed to warn consumers that Kenvue's Tylenol and its generic versions could cause ADHD or autism.
In December 2023, a US federal judge struck a blow to hundreds of such lawsuits, barring expert witnesses from testifying after finding they lacked scientific evidence for their claims.
In August 2024, citing that ruling, the judge dismissed all the cases in federal court. A US appeals court is slated to hear arguments next month in an appeal of that ruling, court records show.
