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Medical groups and Tylenol maker refute autism link claims

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Pregnant women worry about risk to their unborn children

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Acetaminophen remains only safe pain reliever for pregnant

women, doctors say

By Julie Steenhuysen, Julia Harte and Deena Beasley

CHICAGO, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Doctors are already facing

worried women asking whether taking Tylenol during pregnancy can

cause autism in their children just days after U.S. President

Donald Trump urged women to "fight like hell" to not take it.

Trump, at a White House press conference on Monday flanked

by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and senior health

officials, warned women of the autism link, despite scant

scientific evidence, and said his administration would add

warnings to drug labels to highlight the risk.

The day after the press conference, Dr. Rana Alissa, a

pediatrician in Jacksonville and president of the Florida

Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, was covering a

shift in her hospital's newborn nursery along with an

obstetrician-gynecologist.

"Pregnant women were asking about Tylenol actively," she

said. "'What should I do? Do you think it's safe? I just took

Tylenol last month. Do you think I already hurt my baby?' These

are examples of the questions we're hearing."

Dr. Rachel Blake, an obstetrician-gynecologist based in New

York and New Jersey, said she had reassured several pregnant

patients on Tuesday that it was still safe to take Tylenol

despite Trump's repeated admonitions.

"There has been no new research that suggests there should

be a change in that guideline," she said.

BLAMING PREGNANT WOMEN CREATES GUILT

Linking use of Tylenol during pregnancy to autism heaps

blame on pregnant women, who already have a lot of guilt and

fear if they have to take anything while pregnant, said Dr.

Sindhu Srinivas, president of the Society for Maternal-Fetal

Medicine.

"Patients are definitely asking about it," she said,

referring to Trump's warnings. "If they have taken it already or

took it at some point in the pregnancy, there is a lot of

concern," she said.

Her group is among the dozens of medical, research and

autism advocacy groups - including the American College of

Obstetricians and Gynecologists and Tylenol maker Kenvue ( KVUE )

- who have decried the president's comments.

Kenvue ( KVUE ) has said independent, sound science shows taking the

drug does not cause autism. It is sold by generic drugmakers as

acetaminophen in the U.S. and paracetamol in other nations.

On Monday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention updated its website and the U.S. Food and Drug

Administration sent letters to providers warning of a risk, with

the caveat that no causal relationship between acetaminophen and

autism had been established.

Since Monday, European Union health officials, British

health agencies and the World Health Organization have rushed to

correct the record. All said there is no conclusive evidence

linking use of the painkiller during pregnancy and autism.

Srinivas's approach to counseling patients is to share some

of the shortcomings and nuances about the research supporting an

association between Tylenol during pregnancy and autism.

Some of the studies, she said, had "a lot of limitations"

and failed to take into account the reasons a pregnant woman

might need to take acetaminophen, such as fever, which has been

linked with autism.

"What we know is there is really no causal link between

acetaminophen and autism," Srinivas said.

UNTREATED FEVER RAISES BIRTH DEFECT RISK

Acetaminophen is the only pain reliever considered safe for

pregnant women. Doctors already urge them to use the least

amount of the drug for the shortest possible duration to control

pain and fever during pregnancy.

Untreated fever and pain during pregnancy are known to

increase the risk of birth defects, preterm birth, low birth

weight and miscarriage and other health problems.

"The risk of fever in pregnancy is very real," said Dr.

Caitlin Baptiste, maternal fetal medicine specialist at Columbia

University Irving Medical Center in New York.

"Certainly in the first trimester, we know it can cause

congenital birth defects and can raise the risk of

neurodevelopmental disorders," she said.

Baptiste said she is glad for the increased focus on autism,

but does not think it's helpful to add unfounded worries about

Tylenol use. "We need to focus efforts on where the science is,"

she said.

Caring for children with conditions like autism can already

be "exhausting, terrifying, alienating," said Erin Erenberg, the

CEO and co-founder of Chamber of Mothers, a maternal rights

advocacy group with more than 100,000 members across the United

States.

Erenberg, who herself has a "medically complex" child, said

the Trump administration's continuing erosion of trust in

evidence-based health guidance "leaves women vulnerable to

misinformation."