On Sept. 22, President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must notify doctors that using Tylenol — a brand name for acetaminophen — during pregnancy can be associated with a “very increased risk of autism.” This announcement directly clashes with decades of research and evidence that acetaminophen is safe to use during pregnancy, leading to a ton of confusion about what is safe and what isn’t.
This comes after the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said in April 2025 that HHS would undertake a “massive testing and research effort” to determine the cause of autism. The announcement from the Trump Administration faced major backlash from medical professionals worldwide, with Dr. Steven J. Fleischman, president of The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), saying in a statement, “Acetaminophen is one of the few options available to pregnant patients to treat pain and fever, which can be harmful to pregnant people when left untreated. Maternal fever, headaches as an early sign of preeclampsia, and pain are all managed with the therapeutic use of acetaminophen, making acetaminophen essential to the people who need it.”
With all of the misinformation and opposing research, it can be hard to know what exactly is going on with the safety of acetaminophen and pregnant folks. However, I spoke to two experts in the medical field to break down the news, including what science says about acetaminophen’s safety.
Is Tylenol safe to take during pregnancy, According To doctors?
Despite Trump’s claims, medical experts widely agree that there isn’t a link between a pregnant person using acetaminophen and autism in their child. “Acetaminophen (the active ingredient in Tylenol) is not associated with increased risk of autism, ADHD, or intellectual disability in children when mothers took the medication in pregnancy,” says Dr. Sara Tariq, MD, Internal Medicine Physician at Northern Virginia Family Practice. “This was validated in a large NIH-funded study examining over 2.5 million children. There are weaker studies that may hint at a possible association, but the most robust research does not link autism and acetaminophen use in pregnancy.”
Dr. Karen Klawitter, a board-certified pediatrician with over 25 years of experience, agrees. “Correlation does not equate to causation,” she says. “Two large-scale studies in Sweden (2024) and Japan (2025) showed no association between Tylenol during pregnancy and autism, comparing full siblings, controlling for shared environmental and genetic factors within the family.”
So, what exactly is the cause — if there’s even one that we know of? “There are many variables and confounding factors (i.e., parental ages at conception, family history) that may explain some possible associations to autism, but that does not mean that a specific factor causes autism,” Klawitter says. “There are many underlying maternal conditions that may be linked to causing autism, including fevers during pregnancy and chronic pain — both of which a mom will take Tylenol for.”
She continues, “Without an abundance of scientific evidence claiming Tylenol use during pregnancy causes autism, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) continues to support Tylenol use as the gold standard for fevers and pain during pregnancy.”
So, why are the claims going viral if they’re not necessarily true?
In 2025, information sits right at our fingertips — but so does misinformation. “Algorithms are designed to maximize user engagement by showing content that aligns with pre-existing beliefs and generates strong emotional reactions,” Klawitter says. “Controversial topics like this tend to get prioritized and spread quickly versus factual content, which is less interesting to the user.”
Tariq says, “Claims like this go viral due to two factors: human psychology and what I call social media contagion. Unlike traditional media, which has safeguards, fact checkers, and editorial oversight, social media enables rapid peer-to-peer information sharing.” She also says that social media creates a “snowball effect” that empowers algorithms to continue to feed users misinformation from different sources and angles.
Where can students find reliable health information?
To stay up-to-date on reliable, expert-backed health information, it’s best to get it right from the source: your doctor. “Ask your doctors or health care provider, or meet with the college campus clinics and arrange for Q and A,” Tariq says. “In addition, the American College of Physicians website, the American Academy of Family Medicine, or the American Academy of Pediatrics are all evidence-based, trustworthy websites to receive information.”
Klawitter adds, “Trust major medical journals and institutions (e.g., JAMA, Mayo Clinic), and most importantly, consult your doctor. They know you and have your health history and can give the best full advice for you and your family.”