PROVIDENCE – The director of the Rhode Island Department of Health issued a statement calling Tylenol “a safe and trusted medication option for pregnant women” a day after President Donald Trump warned pregnant women against taking the painkiller, alleging an unproven link to autism.
Rhode Island Department of Health Director Dr. Jerry Larkin said, “Tylenol is a safe and trusted medication option for pregnant women, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and other trusted medical organizations. There are few safe medication options for the treatment of fever and pain during pregnancy. Untreated fever and pain during pregnancy can be harmful to pregnant women and to fetuses.”
At a Monday, Sept. 22, news conference with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump said pregnant women should “Fight like hell not to take” Tylenol.
Medical experts are challenging President Donald Trump’s autism claims, defending Tylenol’s safety in pregnancy.
He said the Food and Drug Administration will soon notify physicians that the use of acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, is associated with an increased risk of autism and that women should avoid the painkiller during pregnancy.
Kennedy said the FDA’s recommendation is based on clinical and laboratory studies, but health agencies across the world and other medical experts have not found a definitive link between Tylenol and autism.
Larkin said, “The assertion that autism is caused by the use of acetaminophen, or Tylenol, during pregnancy is not backed by the full body of scientific evidence. Autism is complex, and there has been no evidence of a single cause in the decades it has been researched.”
“If someone is pregnant and has questions about pain management, they should talk to a health care professional,” Larkin said.
With reports from USA Today
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI Health says Tylenol safe, not definitively linked to autism
