On Monday, Donald Trump, flanked by Robert F Kennedy Jr and Dr Mehmet Oz, announced that women should avoid paracetamol during pregnancy due to a spurious link with childhood autism. This political theatre highlights a longstanding problem: pregnant women are routinely let down by poor-quality medical evidence and irresponsible headlines.
There is no credible evidence linking autism with maternal paracetamol use. A large 2024 study of 2.5 million Swedish women found no association after accounting for known risk factors. Autism diagnoses have risen largely due to shifting diagnostic categories and increased awareness, not medication use.
Trump's 'tough it out' message wrongly pitches women's needs against their baby's interests, ignoring that mother and foetus are interdependent. Untreated pain and fever can harm both; maternal fever may negatively affect foetal brain development. Discouraging paracetamol risks pushing women towards ibuprofen, which poses proven risks such as miscarriage and foetal kidney damage.
Pregnant women deserve better than speculation. The precautionary approach should apply both ways: avoiding effective medicine has costs. Research into medication safety during pregnancy is difficult but essential, and must be based on rigorous evidence, not political theatre.
