President Trump’s latest push is this: blame autism on Tylenol. If it sounds ridiculous, that’s because it truly is. Trump’s own words state the use of acetaminophen during pregnancy is a “very big factor” in raising a child’s autism risk. In light of a Trump announcement showing this link, CBS News decided to speak with a real doctor from New York. Dr. Celine Gounder took some time to share what she knows about a potential link and if it actually exists.
CBS Mornings shared a segment on TikTok, asking Dr. Gounder, “Is there a tie between Tylenol and autism?” Gounder immediately answered, “No, the best evidence does not show an association between Tylenol and autism.” She then goes on to say there was a recent study conducted on 2.5 million children in Sweden. They looked at children and their siblings to take genetic factors into account. They found no increase in autism, ADHD, and other intellectual disabilities in women who used Tylenol during pregnancy.
A CBS broadcaster then asks Dr. Gounder, “How will this announcement change how women process this information?” Gounder said she’s concerned about the effects of his announcement. She thinks there is a chance women will move toward other medications during pregnancy like aspirin and ibuprofen. Gounder said this is a concern because “those actually can be dangerous, especially in the third trimester.” She goes on to say Tylenol is really the safest thing women have during pregnancy to control any pain they’re feeling.
Another point Dr. Gounder made is that we really need to be careful with who we’re listening to. She said, “What we’ve seen with vaccines and autism is the same people who recycle the same playbook.” CBS also pointed out the Trump administration is thinking about pushing a lesser-known drug as an autism treatment. Dr. Gounder stated this drug is known as Leucovorin, which is an alleged treatment for folate deficiencies.
She said this, however, is just misinformation. She said, “Not all children with autism” have the folate deficiency. No matter how you want to look at it, it’s concerning that people won’t trust the medical experts and want to live in fear due to the Trump administration.
“My grandmother was autistic, my mother is autistic, I’m autistic and so is my daughter. Needless to say autism runs in my family and not from paracetamol,” one commenter shared. Another person stated, “Thank you to the actual professionals who are standing up and going ‘this information is not accurate.’” It’s so obviously shifty!
