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.Trump made the announcement on Monday in the Oval Office alongside Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. The US president claimed that taking Tylenol, known as paracetamol elsewhere, “is no good” and that pregnant women should only take it in cases of extreme fever.Some studies have shown a link between pregnant women taking Tylenol and autism, but these findings are inconsistent and inconclusive. Tylenol maker Kenvue has defended the use of the drug in pregnant women.In a statement to the BBC, it said: “We believe independent, sound science clearly shows that taking acetaminophen does not cause autism. We strongly disagree with any suggestion otherwise and are deeply concerned with the health risk this poses for expecting mothers.”Aacetaminophen – Tylenol’s active ingredient – is the safest pain reliever option for pregnant women, it added, and without it, women face a dangerous choice between suffering through conditions like fever or using riskier alternatives.During the announcement on Monday, Kennedy said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would issue a physicians notice about what said was the potential risk of taking Tylenol during pregnancy.He said the FDA will also begin the process of initiating a safety label change on the medication, and that it will issue a public health campaign to spread awareness.The health secretary added that the FDA will soon approve Leucovorin, a decades-old drug traditionally used to protect cancer patients against toxicity from chemotherapy, to be used as treatment for children with autism.In April, he pledged “a massive testing and research effort” to d …
