U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Monday that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will notify doctors that the use of acetaminophen (paracetamol) during pregnancy “may be associated with a greatly increased risk of autism in babies.”
Tylenol is one of the most well-known brands in the U.S. that contains acetaminophen (in Europe and Serbia the name paracetamol is used).
“They strongly recommend that women limit the use of Tylenol during pregnancy unless medically necessary, such as in cases of extremely high fever,” Trump said.
However, experts emphasize that autism has multiple causes and that scientific evidence on the connection between Tylenol use during pregnancy and autism is still not conclusive, CNN reminds.
Trump made this announcement from the Oval Office, in the presence of Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary, National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Director Dr. Mehmet Oz.
He stated that previously there was one case of autism per 20,000 births, but that the autism rate has risen by 400 percent since 2000.
“Instead of attacking those who ask questions, we should all be grateful to those trying to find answers to this complex situation,” Trump said.
Trump noted that he heard that groups such as the Amish, who do not take medicine and do not receive vaccines, have no cases of autism. Kennedy distanced himself from this statement, saying that “there are certain studies that suggest this may be the case.”
The U.S. President said that because of this, they strongly recommend women limit the use of Tylenol during pregnancy unless medically necessary.
“For example, in cases of very high fever when you feel you cannot bear it, then you will have to take Tylenol, but very sparingly. Fever is very dangerous, and ideally that decision should be made by a doctor, because I don’t think you should be taking it. And you shouldn’t be taking it throughout the entire pregnancy, and toward the end of pregnancy not at all. And you shouldn’t be giving Tylenol to the child when it is born or every time it gets a shot,” he said.
Trump also said that “vaccines should be given in smaller doses and more frequently.”
He claimed that during life in the U.S. “people receive around 80 different vaccines in combinations.” He believes, he added, that some vaccines should be separated, and that there is no reason to give babies a hepatitis B vaccine that is transmitted sexually.
CNN reminds that this strategy has led to hepatitis B infection in children being nearly eradicated.
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Kennedy: We analyzed both studies that indicate a link to autism and those that do not
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy said he ordered the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to launch an unprecedented engagement of all agencies to identify all causes of autism, including toxic and pharmaceutical exposures.
“The FDA is responding to clinical and laboratory studies indicating a potential link between paracetamol use during pregnancy and adverse neurological outcomes, including later diagnoses of ADHD and autism. Scientists have proposed biological mechanisms connecting prenatal paracetamol exposure to altered brain development. We also analyzed opposing studies that do not show such a connection,” he said.
He announced a campaign to raise awareness about the risks of paracetamol use during pregnancy.
“The FDA also recognizes that paracetamol is often the only option for reducing fever and relieving pain in pregnancy, as other alternatives have well-documented harmful effects. Therefore, HHS wants to encourage doctors to use their best judgment in applying paracetamol for fever and pain in pregnancy, prescribing the lowest effective dose for the shortest possible period, and only when treatment is necessary,” Kennedy said.
He said that additional research will be launched.
“In addition to the possible link between paracetamol and autism in pregnant women, babies, and small children, our research has found that a lack of folate in the child’s brain can lead to autism. We have also identified a promising therapy that could help a large number of children suffering from autism. In peer-reviewed scientific literature, it has been documented that up to 60 percent of children with autism spectrum disorder and folate deficiency can have improved verbal communication when given Leucovorin,” he noted.
Kennedy stressed that autism is a complex disorder with multiple causes.
“We continue to investigate a multitude of possible causes, without any taboos. One area we are closely studying, as the President mentioned, is vaccines. About 40 to 70 percent of mothers who have children with autism believe that their child was harmed by a vaccine. President Trump believes we should listen to these mothers, instead of gaslighting and marginalizing them as previous administrations did. Some of our friends like to say we should believe all women, yet some among them have stayed silent and demonized these mothers for three decades,” Kennedy said.
He added that since “research on the possible connection between autism and vaccines has in the past been actively suppressed, it will take time for scientists to approach this topic honestly and objectively.”
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