The advice comes after the US President claimed pregnant women shouldn’t take paracetamol, because it could cause their child to have autism.
At the beginning of this week Donald Trump said pregnant women should avoid taking acetaminophen – internationally known as paracetamol – on the grounds that it raises the chances of children being autistic.
In similar vein, the President also said that parents of young children should delay or avoid some vaccines. He said: ‘Don’t let them pump your baby up with the largest pile of stuff you’ve ever seen in your life.’
Since the claims were made, medical experts have been quick to debunk the myths.
‘Paracetamol remains the recommended pain relief option for pregnant women when used as directed,’ Dr Alison Cave, chief safety officer at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulator Agency (MHRA), said. ‘Pregnant women should continue to follow existing NHS guidance and speak to their healthcare professional if they have questions about any medication during pregnancy.
‘Untreated pain and fever can pose risks to the unborn baby, so it is important to manage these symptoms with the recommended treatment.
Dr Cave continued: ‘We continuously monitor the safety of all medicines, including those used during pregnancy, through robust monitoring and surveillance. We encourage anyone to report any suspected side-effects to us via the Yellow Card scheme.’
Echoing a similar tone, Wes Streeting told ITV: ‘I trust doctors over President Trump, frankly, on this. I’ve just got to be really clear about this: there is no evidence to link the use of paracetamol by pregnant women to autism in their children.
‘So I would just say to people watching: don’t pay any attention whatsoever to what Donald Trump says about medicine. In fact, don’t take even my word for it as a politician – listen to British doctors [and] British scientists.’
On the subject of science, a Swedish study published last year, found no evidence of an association between prenatal exposure to acetaminophen and autism – or even ADHD and learning disabilities. To conduct the research, experts tracked the births of 2.4 million children who were born between 1995 and 2019. What’s more, a follow up to the study was conducted in December 2021.
Mel Merritt, head of policy and campaigns at the National Autistic Society, said the statements from President Trump and Robert F Kennedy Jr risks ‘undermining decades of research by respected experts in this field.’
‘Understandably, autistic people will be dismayed and frightened by this announcement, and we would urge our government and the NHS to stand by autistic people and to condemn this misinformation,’ Mel continued. ‘To do otherwise risks creating further fear, stigmatisation and harm.
‘We urge anyone looking for information about autism to visit websites from trusted organisations such as the NHS and the National Autistic Society.’
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