On September 22, 2025, the Trump administration ignited a firestorm of controversy by announcing, in a high-profile White House briefing, that Tylenol use during pregnancy could cause autism. President Donald Trump, flanked by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., declared that pregnant women should “tough it out” if they experience pain or fever, and avoid both Tylenol and vaccines. The announcement, delivered with characteristic bravado, sent shockwaves through the medical community and left expectant mothers, families of autistic children, and scientists reeling.
“If you’re pregnant, don’t take Tylenol, and don’t give it to the baby after the baby is born,” Trump said at the briefing, according to KFF Health News. He went further, claiming, “There are certain groups of people that don’t take vaccines and don’t take any pills that have no autism. They pump so much stuff into those beautiful little babies, it’s a disgrace.” These statements, however, were made without providing any credible scientific evidence and have been widely criticized by experts as misleading and potentially dangerous.
The administration’s claims rested on a reanalysis of 46 previous observational studies, an effort led by epidemiologist Bauer and her colleagues at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell. But as reported by both KFF Health News and The Boston Globe, the majority of these studies found no link between Tylenol (acetaminophen) and autism, and only seven of the 46 even examined this specific connection. In fact, the largest and most rigorous study cited—a Swedish study following 2.4 million children over 25 years, including nearly 1.8 million sibling comparisons—found no association between prenatal Tylenol exposure and autism. Sibling studies are considered especially robust because they control for many genetic and environmental factors that could otherwise confound results.
Despite this, the White House briefing emphasized findings from weaker studies while downplaying the strongest evidence. Dr. Ashish K. Jha, dean of Brown University School of Public Health, bluntly criticized this approach in The Boston Globe: “Emphasizing weak associations while downplaying the strongest evidence lent unearned credibility to Kennedy’s pronouncement and gave the White House cover for a claim that simply isn’t supported by science.”
Bauer herself expressed alarm at how her team’s work was being used. “If prenatal Tylenol has any association, which it may not, it would help account for only a fraction of cases,” she told KFF Health News. She warned that the administration’s messaging could backfire, causing people to avoid Tylenol and vaccines—the only painkiller considered safe during pregnancy and a proven tool for preventing serious diseases, respectively—potentially putting mothers and babies at risk.
Medical experts point out that untreated high fever and severe pain during pregnancy can lead to serious complications, such as birth defects or pre-term labor. Ibuprofen, another common painkiller, is known to increase the risk of miscarriage and is generally not recommended for pregnant women. This leaves acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, as the safest option for managing pain and fever during pregnancy. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists continues to recommend acetaminophen “as needed, in moderation, and after consultation with a doctor.”
“Fevers can harm the mother and the developing fetus,” said Helen Tager-Flusberg, director of the Center for Autism Research Excellence at Boston University, in an interview with KFF Health News. She emphasized that fevers themselves are more strongly associated with autism than Tylenol use. Indeed, several studies have suggested that the underlying fever or infection prompting Tylenol use, rather than the medication itself, may be the real culprit.
The Trump administration’s approach has also raised eyebrows for its lack of scientific rigor and transparency. According to KFF Health News, scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were neither consulted nor asked to review the White House’s findings and recommendations—a highly unusual departure from standard practice. “Typically, we’d be asked to provide information and review the report for accuracy, but we’ve had absolutely no contact with anyone,” one CDC researcher said, speaking anonymously for fear of retaliation.
Critics argue that the administration’s focus on Tylenol and vaccines as simple answers to the complex question of autism’s causes is not just scientifically unfounded, but also politically motivated. Kennedy, long known for promoting fringe theories about vaccines and autism, has called autism “preventable” by eliminating environmental toxins—a claim that contradicts the consensus of decades of research. “We know genetics is the most significant risk factor,” Tager-Flusberg explained. “But you can’t blame Big Pharma for genetics, and you can’t build a political movement on genetics research and ride to victory.”
Peter Hotez, a vaccine researcher and author, recounted his own attempts to educate Kennedy on the science. “I sat down with him and explained what the science says, but he was unwilling or incapable of thinking deeply about it,” Hotez told KFF Health News. “He is extremely careless.”
Meanwhile, the administration has proposed updating Tylenol’s prescribing information to encourage clinicians to use the lowest effective dose for the shortest duration during pregnancy. Some experts, like Bauer, support clearer guidance on medication use during pregnancy but worry that the White House’s messaging is distorting careful scientific recommendations. “Try to alleviate discomfort in some other ways, like with a cold compress, hydration, or massage, before taking it,” Bauer advised, echoing the standard medical approach of using all medications judiciously during pregnancy.
Beyond Tylenol, the administration has also floated updating information on leucovorin, a medication related to folate, for use as an autism treatment. However, as Tager-Flusberg noted, the evidence for leucovorin’s effectiveness is based on small, older studies and is far from a breakthrough.
The broader scientific community remains deeply skeptical of the administration’s efforts. Many see the focus on Tylenol and vaccines as a distraction from the real needs of autistic individuals and their families—needs that include better research, support, and services. The rise in autism diagnoses in recent decades, experts say, is largely due to improved recognition and changes in diagnostic criteria, not any single environmental factor or medication.
“Public Citizen is very supportive of research on medications that could be linked to diseases,” said Robert Steinbrook, head of health research at the nonprofit group, “but it needs to be through an open process, which looks at scientific evidence, and which doesn’t cherry-pick studies to support a preconceived point of view.” Steinbrook and others worry that the administration’s actions are undermining public trust in government health agencies and eroding the ability of scientists to conduct credible research.
The stakes are high. As of 2022, about 1 in 31 eight-year-old children in the United States had autism spectrum disorder. Yet, the Trump administration’s rhetoric risks stigmatizing families, fostering misinformation, and diverting attention from the real scientific questions that need answers. In the words of Dr. Jha, “There is no credible evidence that [Tylenol] causes [autism]. What we do know is that fear and misinformation can cause real harm.”
For now, the medical consensus remains unchanged: pregnant women should consult their doctors and rely on established scientific guidance, not political sound bites, when making decisions about their health and the health of their babies.
