Earlier this week, the Trump administration issued a controversial statement linking pregnant women’s use of paracetamol to the risk of their baby developing autism.
However, this claim has been criticised by many news outlets and health experts.
‘Claims are damaging’
A statement released by Autism Spectrum Australia (aspect) on 23 September says the “claims are damaging”.
“[The claims] misrepresent the science and reinforce the harmful idea that autism is something to be eradicated, rather than a natural form of human neurodiversity,” they write.
“[They] also serve to reinforce harmful stereotypes and overlook the inherent worth of every Autistic person.
“Aspect offers compassion to all Autistic people and parents of Autistic children in the community. Aspect supports you and will continue to promote and celebrate the strengths, interests and aspirations of Autistic individuals.
“Aspect’s efforts in research, services and supports will continue to focus on building understanding of autism, promoting acceptance, and ensuring appropriate support, opportunities, and respect for people on the autism spectrum,” they write.
An article by Ali Swenson and Amanda Seitz published by PBS News on 22 September 2025 states:
“Experts say the rise in cases is mainly due to a new definition for the disorder that now includes mild cases on a “spectrum” and better diagnoses,” they write.
“They say there is no single cause to the disorder and say the rhetoric appears to ignore and undermine decades of science into the genetic and environmental factors that can play a role.”
Here, Australian experts discuss what we know about this claim.
‘Unnecessary anxiety for pregnant women’
“This comment by the US president is not helpful and has the potential to cause unnecessary anxiety for pregnant women and their families,” says Dr Gino Pecoraro OAM, Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Queensland.
“Numerous studies have found association between paracetamol use and Autism spectrum disorder but none have found causation.
“Even in the studies suggesting association, the effect is very mild with only a 0.1% increased rate (from 1.33% to 1.42%) in the largest Swedish study looking at 2.5 million children born between 1995 and 2019.
“These changes were more likely explained by confounding issues rather than drug having been take,
“Furthermore, twin studies of fraternal twins whose mothers had taken paracetamol during pregnancy did not find concordance with very few cases that both twins were affected.
“Paracetamol remains a very effective treatment for pain and fever and to remove this from pregnant women would be to do them a disservice.
“It is important to control these symptoms in pregnancy as they may cause problems of themselves.
“As always, women are strongly encouraged to seek pregnancy advice from their GP or obstetrician about any drug use in pregnancy and to avoid scaremongering from non-medically-trained people,” says Dr Pecoraro who is also the President of the President of the National Association of Specialist Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (NASOG).
‘We know this isn’t true’
“We know that this is not true,” says Dr Ian Musgrave, Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Medicine, School of Medicine Sciences, within the Discipline of Pharmacology at the University of Adelaide.
“Autism was described in 1943 and paracetamol was not commercially available in the US until 1950, and Australia in 1956.
“After decades of research we know that Autism is a multi-genomic developmental disorder, with 80% heritability.
“Environmental factors are involved as well, such as parental age, and fever during pregnancy.
“However, we have strong evidence paracetamol is not associated with autism, a large population-based sample of 2,480,797 children born in 1995 to 2019 in Sweden showed that paracetamol use during pregnancy was not associated with children’s risk of autism, ADHD, or intellectual disability in sibling control analysis (when exposed siblings were compared to unexposed siblings).
“Increasing use of paracetamol was not associated with increased risk.
“There has been some alarm in the general public about the increasing incidence of autism in the population, but this is due to increased awareness amongst parents and clinicians and broadening diagnostic substitution.
“When modern diagnostic criteria were used in adults in a UK study, autism rates in the adults were the same as in the child population.
“There is a temptation to seek simple answers to complex problems like autism, but blaming paracetamol will not help and will only cause parents unwarranted anxiety.
“Remember that fever during pregnancy is a risk for autism and poor pregnancy outcomes generally, and demonising one of the few agents available to women during pregnancy will not improve outcomes.”
‘Occasional or short-term use is unlikely to be harmful’
“This study does not present new experimental findings; rather, it synthesises and critiques the existing evidence,” says Associate Professor Alex Polyakov, Clinical Associate Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne.
“Its central focus is whether paracetamol (also known as acetaminophen) taken during pregnancy is associated with adverse outcomes in children, particularly attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
“Most of the studies considered in the review are retrospective in design — meaning they examine events after they have occurred. Such studies can highlight associations but cannot prove cause and effect.
“For example, one common reason pregnant women take paracetamol is to reduce fever.
“If later analyses show their children have higher rates of developmental difficulties, it is difficult to determine whether the medication itself was responsible or whether the fever contributed to the outcome.
“Retrospective research is also prone to biases — such as recall bias, publication bias and selection bias — that may distort results. Statistical methods can reduce these issues, but they cannot fully eliminate them.
“What, then, can be inferred?
“The balance of evidence indicates that prolonged or high-dose use of paracetamol during pregnancy may carry risks for the child, whereas occasional or short-term use is unlikely to be harmful.
“This conclusion aligns with a broader principle in medicine: all medications should be used cautiously, only when clearly necessary, at the lowest effective dose, and for the shortest possible time.
“This guidance is particularly important in pregnancy, when many alternatives to paracetamol for pain and fever management have well-established risks that are considerably greater.
“Research shows that both autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are predominantly driven by genetic factors, which account for around 70–80% of overall risk, while environmental influences together contribute only about 20–30%.
“Among these environmental factors, many influences are involved — such as parental age, prematurity, maternal health conditions, and air pollution — each contributing only modestly.
“Any effect of paracetamol use in pregnancy is therefore likely to be very small relative to these much larger genetic influences.
“This means that even if paracetamol was completely eliminated during pregnancy, it would almost certainly have only a negligible impact on the overall prevalence of ADHD and ASD at the population level,” says Associate Professor Polyakov who is also the Medical Director of Genea Fertility Melbourne.
‘Benefits vs risks in pregnancy should be weighed by healthcare team’
“Evidence is mixed. A recent review in the US has reported associations between prenatal paracetamol use and slightly higher rates of autism, but a large Swedish study using sibling comparisons had found no effect when family factors were controlled,” says Associate Professor Kevin Yap, Adjunct Associate Professor in the School of Psychology and Public Health at La Trobe University.
“The observational studies in the US review differ in design (e.g. self-report vs prescription data), exposure timing and duration, and how other confounders were adjusted – therefore, the results of this study have to be taken with caution.
“Outcome data are inconclusive due to study limitations, and causal associations have not been established from the literature. Benefits vs risk of foetal harm from medical condition (e.g. maternal fever and pain) versus the use of paracetamol in pregnancy should be weighed by the healthcare team.
“If paracetamol is taken, it is recommended to take the lowest effective dose for the shortest duration under medical guidance.
“Pregnant women should discuss any persistent or recurrent symptoms with their healthcare team.”
‘Association doesn’t mean causation’
“Recent suggestions that Tylenol use during pregnancy could increase the risk of autism has understandably raised concern among expectant parents,” says Dr Hannah Kirk, NHMRC Research Fellow (Peter Doherty ECF), Monash University.
“However, no study has shown that acetaminophen, the main ingredient in Tylenol, causes autism.
“Some studies have reported an association between acetaminophen use and autism, while others have not.
“Importantly, association does not mean causation.
“A recent large-scale study, which analysed data from 2.48 million births, found that when researchers compared siblings (a method to control for genetic and environmental factors) any apparent links between acetaminophen and autism disappeared.
“This suggests that other factors such as genetic or underlying maternal health conditions may better explain the findings.
“It’s also worth noting that fever itself has been linked to adverse pregnancy outcomes.
“In many cases treating a fever with acetaminophen may reduce those risks.
“Pregnant people should continue to follow the advice of their healthcare providers when managing pain and fever.”
‘Autism is a complex condition influenced by genetic and environmental factors’
“There has been research exploring whether taking acetaminophen (also called paracetamol) during pregnancy could increase the likelihood of the offspring of the pregnancy being diagnosed with autism,” says Professor Andrew Whitehouse, Angela Wright Bennett Professor of Autism Research at The Kids Research Institute Australia.
“Some studies have reported small associations, but these findings are not consistent and do not prove that acetaminophen directly causes autism.
“Autism is a complex condition influenced by many genetic and environmental factors.
“Any small associations in this area need to be weighed against the risk of untreated high fever in pregnancy for the woman and the developing baby.”
