Tylenol Is Safe For Pregnant Women, Study Finds

A new review of research involving more than three million people has found no strong evidence that taking Tylenol during pregnancy causes autism or ADHD. President Trump himself told pregnant women “Don’t take Tylenol,” a year ago, as his administration raised concerns about a possible link between the painkiller and autism.A new review, published Wednesday in Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, does not back up that assertion. The study examined previous research on prenatal exposure to acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, and later diagnoses of autism or ADHD.Researchers initially found small associations between acetaminophen exposure and both conditions. Those associations, however, became substantially weaker and approached zero when the researchers limited their analysis to higher-quality studies.The authors concluded that the existing research does not provide robust epidemiological evidence that prenatal acetaminophen exposure causes autism or ADHD.The findings come after Mr. Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. placed the possible connection between Tylenol and autism at the center of a major federal health announcement.In September 2025, the administration announced that the Food and Drug Administration would begin the process of updating acetaminophen labels to warn physicians about a possible association between use during pregnancy and adverse neurological outcomes in children.At the time, HHS acknowledged that the scientific literature was conflicting and that researchers had not established a causal relationship. The agency advised doctors to use the lowest effective dose for the shortest period necessary when treating pain or fever during pregnancy.The White House went further, saying there was “mounting evidence” of a connection between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and autism and pointing to several studies that had reported associations between the two.The administration’s focus on Tylenol also affected investors. Shares of Kenvue, which owned Tylenol at the time, fell more than six percent in September 2025 after reports emerged that Kennedy’s health department planned to highlight a potential connection between the drug and autism.Scientists have long struggled to determine whether associations seen in some acetaminophen studies are caused by the medication itself or by other factors.Pregnant women may take acetaminophen because of fever, infection, inflammation, or pain, for example, and those underlying conditions can complicate efforts to determine whether the medication is responsible for later developmental outcomes.The new study was an “umbrella review,” meaning researchers analyzed previously published meta-analyses rather than conducting a new trial. The authors found that the apparent connection became weaker as the quality of the underlying research improved.“Our findings show that the apparent association between prenatal paracetamol exposure and autism or ADHD weakens as methodological quality improves,” lead author Hoda Tayebi Hillali of Spain’s University of Santiago de Compostela said.The findings do not mean acetaminophen should be taken without consideration during pregnancy. Federal health officials have continued to recommend that doctors weigh the benefits and risks of its use, particularly because untreated fever can itself pose risks during pregnancy.

Tylenol Is Safe For Pregnant Women, Study Finds

Tylenol Is Safe For Pregnant Women, Study Finds

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