Doctors in the US will soon be advised not to prescribe the pain reliever Tylenol to pregnant women, US President Donald Trump said, citing a disputed link between the drug and autism.
The US president claimed on Monday that taking Tylenol, known as paracetamol elsewhere, “is no good” and that pregnant women should “fight like hell” to only take it in cases of extreme fever.
Medical experts have strongly pushed back on the claims, with some calling the president’s comments dangerous.
Health officials in the UK have stressed that paracetamol remains the safest painkiller available to pregnant women.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists disputed the link made by Trump in the Oval Office on Monday.
Its president, Dr Steven Fleischman, said the Tylenol claim “is not backed by the full body of scientific evidence and dangerously simplifies the many and complex causes of neurologic challenges in children”.
“Studies that have been conducted in the past, show no clear evidence that proves a direct relationship between the prudent use of acetaminophen during any trimester and fetal developmental issues,” the statement added.
In a notice to doctors, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) used milder language than Trump.
The agency said doctors should consider limiting the use of Tylenol, while also taking into account that it is the safest over-the-counter option to treat fever and pain in pregnant women, which can also harm maternal and fetal health.
“To be clear, while an association between acetaminophen and autism has been described in many studies, a causal relationship has not been established and there are contrary studies in the scientific literature,” the FDA wrote. (BBC)
