UK experts accused the Trump administration of ‘fearmongering’ over comments on paracetamol and autism – highlighting studies rubbishing the US President’s bizarre claim
Donald Trump’s unproven claim of a link between paracetamol use in pregnancy and autism has been rejected by a UK government minister.
The US President said there had been a “meteoric rise” in cases of autism and suggested that Tylenol – which is called paracetamol in the UK – is a potential cause. Despite providing no evidence, he said it should not be taken “during the entire pregnancy”, and also raised unfounded concerns about vaccines.
UK experts accused the Trump administration of “fearmongering” and highlighted studies rubbishing the US President’s bizarre claims. Labour minister Matthew Pennycook also told Sky News: “I chose my words carefully here.
“I think in any policy decision, I do this in my own Department, we’ve got to be led by the evidence. The fact is any such link at the moment is unproven. It’s really important more generally – talking about children with autism – that we get the right support in place.”
He added: “On that particular point and the President’s suggestion, let’s be led by the science. Follow the science, there’s NHS advice and guidance on the website about paracetamol use in general.”
In the UK, the NHS website says “paracetamol is the first choice of painkiller if you’re pregnant. It’s commonly taken during pregnancy and does not harm your baby”.
Meanwhile experts slammed the comments by the US President. Dr Monique Botha, associate professor in social and developmental psychology at Durham University, told the PA media: “There are many studies which refute a link, but the most important was a Swedish study of 2.4 million births published in 2024 which used actual sibling data and found no relationship between exposure to paracetamol in utero and subsequent autism, ADHD or intellectual disability. This suggests no causal effect of paracetamol in autism.”
Dr Botha added: “There is no robust evidence or convincing studies to suggest there is any causal relationship and any conclusions being drawn to the contrary are often motivated, under-evidenced, and unsupported by the most robust methods to answering this question. I am exceptionally confident in saying that no relationship exists.
“Similarly, pain relief for pregnant women is woefully lacking and paracetamol is a much safer pain relief option during pregnancy than basically any other alternative and we need to take pain seriously for women, including whilst pregnant.
“The fearmongering will prevent women from accessing the appropriate care during pregnancy. Further, it risks stigmatising families who have autistic children as having brought it on themselves and reinvigorates the long pattern of maternal shame and blame as we’ve seen re-emerge repeatedly over the last 70 years where we try to pay the fault of autism at the mother’s door one way or another.”
Professor Claire Anderson, president of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, said: “Paracetamol has been used safely by millions of people for decades, including during pregnancy, when taken as directed.
“It is the first-line choice for pain management and fever control in a variety of patients, including pregnant women, children and the elderly. A large study conducted in 2024 found no evidence of a link between paracetamol use in pregnancy and an increased risk of autism in children.”
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