As President Donald Trump’s ‘harmful’ claims about autism are condemned across the world, four mothers have hit back at the ‘policing of women’s bodies’, including a mum with four autistic children
US President Donald Trump has once again come forward with unfounded health claims, this time about the use of paracetamol in early pregnancy. In a declaration that has sparked concern amongst scientists and healthcare professionals alike, POTUS urged pregnant women to “fight like hell” against using the common painkiller, which he claims is behind a rise in autism cases.
Trump said pregnant women ‘have a responsibility’ to suffer pain and should only take paracetamol if they ‘can’t tough it out’. The medical community has been quick to rubbish Trump’s claims and mothers have hit back in their droves, slamming his ‘harmful’ message which perpetuates ‘fear’.
Mother of five Ana Bonasera tells The Mirror the message President Trump is sending out here is a “harmful” one, which “reinforces stigma and fear instead of focusing on acceptance, inclusion and celebrating neurodiversity.”
Ana, an ADHD coach and neurodivergent consultant, has four children with autism, plus a toddler daughter who she suspects is neurodivergent. She rarely takes pain killers herself and believes the “scare-mongering” comments are “yet another way of placing blame onto mothers”.
She told the Mirror: “It adds unnecessary pressure on new mums, making them worry that if their child is autistic, it’s somehow something to be feared, prevented or even ‘cured’. That’s simply not the case. Autism isn’t a disease; it’s a difference in the brain. There is nothing wrong with our children; there just needs to be more understanding and accommodations.”
READ MORE: Donald Trump’s autism claim debunked after paracetamol warning to pregnant women
There has been an 800 per cent increase in autism diagnoses over the last two decades, as per research in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. Although rising rates of diagnoses are thought to be partly due to a genuine increase in cases, it’s also believed that diagnoses that may have previously gone under the radar are now being spotted at an early age.
For example, autism in girls may present differently from their male counterparts, and they may be more adept at “masking” or working hard to “fit in” with their neurotypical classmates. Many may only begin to understand their differences once they reach womanhood.
“The rising rates of adult autism diagnosis have not been mentioned by Trump, but prove autism rates should have been higher in the past, but due to the lack of understanding of how autism shows up in a diverse way, it has prevented it from being discovered sooner,” Ana adds.
The Mirror also spoke to Sophie Baldwin, founder of The Mum Collective, who states that, “the idea that women should simply ‘put up with pain’ is outdated and harmful.” With her first child, Sophie managed to get through the birth with just gas and air, but with her second, it was a different story.
Hitting back at the stigma that is still all too often attached to mothers who seek pain relief, Sophie shared: “I needed every bit of medication the hospital could offer. And I don’t feel weak for that, I feel lucky those options were available to me.”
During her second pregnancy, Sophie unfortunately suffered from agonising headaches and pubic symphysis diastasis, a rare and often excruciatingly painful condition associated with pregnancy, characterised by the early and uneven separation of pubic bones, which are usually joined.
Left in debilitating pain, paracetamol was the only thing that kept Sophie from being confined to her bed. Sophie told us: “Without something as basic as paracetamol, I’d have been completely bedbound. I had a toddler at home – I couldn’t just check out. This idea that pregnant women should tough it out in silence ignores the reality of what many of us go through. It’s not about weakness, it’s about basic care and dignity.”
The Mirror has also heard from Daisy Souster, PR Specialist and Mummy Content Creator, who argued: “If you have not grown a child inside your body, then sit down, listen and learn a thing or two.” She added: “I would like to see Mr Trump ‘putting up with the pain’ of pregnancy and childbirth.”
Asserting that “no man” should have a say over a woman’s rights over her own body, Daisy continued: “Pregnancy is a blessing, and it is beautiful in many ways. Still, there are things we women have to go through that are of no consideration to a man, such as deep vein thrombosis, pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, hypertension, and the list goes on.
“We put up with a lot of pain, but we also advocate for our bodies, and our voices to be heard daily – and this movement started back in the early 19th century – thanks to the likes of women like Emmeline Pankhurst. We are certainly not about to ‘put up with the pain’ when a man tells us to now.”
In line with NHS guidelines, paracetamol, which is sold under the brand name Tylenol in the US, is recommended as the safest treatment for pain and high fever, which, if left untreated, can increase the risk of birth defects. The NHS advises: “Paracetamol is the first choice of painkiller if you’re pregnant. It’s commonly taken during pregnancy and does not harm your baby.”
With this in mind, mum-to-be Frida* has expressed outrage over President Trump’s unfounded comments, reasoning: “Paracetamol is the only thing that pregnant women can take when they have a fever, which is so dangerous for the baby, so what does he propose we do when that happens?”
Frida, who has asked Trump to “stop policing women’s bodies”, expressed some relief that this is happening in the US, and not in the UK, while sharing her fears that health advice on this side of the pond could one day see similar backwards changes.
Fortunately, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Wes Streeting has come out firmly against President Trump’s assertions on this matter, telling ITV’s Lorraine: “I would just say to people watching, don’t pay any attention whatsoever to what Donald Trump says about medicine.
“I trust doctors over President Trump, frankly, on this. I’ve just got to be really clear about this: there is no evidence to link the use of paracetamol by pregnant women to autism in their children. None.”
Mr Streeting added, “In fact, a major study was done back in 2024 in Sweden, involving 2.4 million children, and it did not uphold those claims.
“So I would just say to people watching, don’t pay any attention whatsoever to what Donald Trump says about medicine. In fact, don’t take even take my word for it, as a politician – listen to British doctors, British scientists, the NHS.
“It’s really important that at a time when you know there is scepticism, and I don’t think scepticism itself, asking questions is in itself a bad thing, by all means, ask questions – but we’ve got to follow medical science.”
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