Description (Plain Language)
On Monday, United States President Donald Trump held a press conference and claimed that Tylenol, a fever medication, is unsafe to take during pregnancy. Trump and other officials claim taking Tylenol during pregnancy can cause autism.
However, many health experts say this is not true. The Food and Drug Administration also says there is only an “association” but no proof Tylenol causes autism.
BTPM’s Emyle Watkins spoke with Dr. Thaddeus Waters, who leads maternal-fetal medicine at the Jacobs School of Medicine. Dr. Waters cares for people with high-risk pregnancies. He shares advice for pregnant people who may feel worried or confused after hearing this claim.
Dr. Waters emphasizes that you can take Tylenol during pregnancy. Fevers can be dangerous when pregnant. You should talk to your doctor if you are worried.
Watkins also spoke with Zoe Gross, the director of advocacy for the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, or ASAN. ASAN is one of the leading organizations run by and representing autistic people. Gross talks about how this announcement impacts the autistic community.
Both Waters and Gross say the announcement is concerning and could impact people in a negative way.
"We will never have a single bullet theory to this.
And presenting Tylenol as such is at best, unhelpful, at worst, dangerous," Dr. Waters says, explaining that there is no single reason or cause for why some people are autistic.
"Autism is a very complex disability. It's caused by many different genes. It's based in our brains. It affects every part of how we perceive the world. You cannot take the autism out of me. It's just not happening," said Gross.
"So, every email, penny, that goes in pursuit of this cure is just spent chasing a fantasy when we could be spending that money and time researching and implementing what will really help autistic people," Gross added, explaining that focusing on what causes autism takes resources away from finding new supports and services for autistic people.
ASAN also offers resources for people who want to learn more about autism, which you can find by clicking here.
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript provided by a contractor and may be updated over time to be more accurate.
Emyle Watkins: Hi, I'm Emyle Watkins, and this is the Disabilities Beat.
On Monday, President Donald Trump alleged that Tylenol use during pregnancy has a link to autism, a claim which has been widely disputed and discredited. The Food and Drug Administration referred to the link as a "association" and said in a statement that a "causal relationship has not been established" between autism and Tylenol.
I spoke with Dr. Thaddeus Waters, the Chief of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at the Jacobs School of Medicine, to get some advice for people who are concerned or confused about this allegation. Waters, as a physician, treats people with high-risk pregnancies.
Dr. Thaddeus Waters: And when we talk about the realm of patient care, patient safety, medication, pregnancy, it's vitally important that we are wedded to facts. And the facts in this situation are that while there has been some weak associations reported, they have not been corroborated. And the plurality of evidence does not support a linkage of the Tylenol exposure to the outcome. The plurality of evidence is that this is a multifactorial challenge. We will never have a single bullet theory to this.
And presenting Tylenol as such is at best, unhelpful, at worst, dangerous. And it also underscores the challenges of science and research within women's health and the importance of continuing to have robust funding to help provide the best answers that we can around this. I think it's reasonable to be frustrated about the quality of evidence around the topic. That's true for a lot of what we do in women's health.
Emyle Watkins: What do you want pregnant people or parents of autistic kids to know? Do you have any advice for them in navigating this confusing announcement?
Dr. Thaddeus Waters: Yeah. I think what I would say is that interpreting conflicting medical science is challenging for everyone. Being aware of all of the facts that are known about this topic is essential, and relying upon their providers to help answer questions for them and to provide appropriate medical advice is important. But to also understand that Tylenol is permissible to use in pregnancy. Not taking Tylenol when a person has say very high fevers may be far more dangerous than any potential, and I want to underline that word, potential relationship between Tylenol and neurodevelopmental disorders. And to understand that everybody is aware of the challenges of having a child with neurodevelopmental issues. None of us want that to be anything that a family faces, but it's also important that we not place pregnant people in harm's way, trying to prevent something which may not even be related to what it is that we're talking about.
Emyle Watkins: I also spoke with Zoe Gross, the Director of Advocacy for the Autistic Self Advocacy Network. ASAN is one of the leading organizations led by and representing autistic people.
Zoe Gross: As far as we know, there isn't anything you can really do during pregnancy to make the likelihood that you'll have an autistic child bigger or smaller, so that's good news for you because you don't need to worry about doing something that will make your child autistic. Whether or not that sounds appealing to you, it's out of your hands. What I would focus on is your own health and the health of your child. And what we do know, for example, is that fevers during pregnancy, if the pregnant person has a fever, that poses a larger risk to the fetus than anything that may or may not be associated with acetaminophen. Which once again, according to the most recent science, the best science we have is safe to take during pregnancy. That's from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Also, feel free to discuss this with your personal physician. That relationship is going to be really important for you as there's so much misinformation out there about what's safe during pregnancy.
Emyle Watkins: Gross also points out the time and money spent on this could be spent elsewhere to support autistic people.
Zoe Gross: Just to be frank, the cure is not coming. The cure is impossible. Autism is a very complex disability. It's caused by many different genes. It's based in our brains. It affects every part of how we perceive the world. You cannot take the autism out of me. It's just not happening. So, every email, penny that goes in pursuit of this cure is just spent chasing a fantasy when we could be spending that money and time researching and implementing what will really help autistic people. Which is better quality supports, better access to alternative and augmentative communication, better services through Medicaid, better education, better supports in the workplace, things that could really impact our quality of life.
Emyle Watkins: You can listen to the Disabilities Beat segment on demand, view a transcript in plain language description for every episode on our website at btpm.org. I'm Emyle Watkins. Thanks for listening.
