The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has stated that there is no new data that would warrant any revision to current guidance regarding the use of paracetamol—commonly known as Tylenol in the U.S.—during pregnancy, reports RTE.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump recently warned against the use of Tylenol by pregnant women, citing an unproven association with autism, and also called for sweeping changes to routine childhood vaccinations.
A representative from the World Health Organization responded by saying that any correlation between paracetamol use during pregnancy and autism remains inconclusive and emphasized the critical importance of vaccines, reports RTE.
“The evidence remains inconsistent,” WHO spokesperson Tarik Jašarević told a Geneva press briefing when asked about a possible link between paracetamol use in pregnancy and autism. We know that vaccines do not cause autism. Vaccines, as I said, save countless lives. So this is something that science has proven, and these things should not be really questioned,” he added, reports RTE.
Health experts have long considered acetaminophen one of the safest pain relief options during pregnancy, particularly since untreated fever and pain can also endanger both the pregnant person and the fetus.
“Available evidence has found no link between the use of paracetamol during pregnancy and autism,” the EMA said in a statement, adding paracetamol could be used during pregnancy when needed though at the lowest effective dose and frequency, reports RTE.
Ireland’s Health Service Executive (HSE) Chief Clinical Officer has also stated that there is no proof of a connection between expectant mothers taking paracetamol and autism in their children.
Dr Colm Henry pointed to extensive findings from numerous European and UK regulatory bodies that oversee medication safety.
Speaking to RTÉ’s News at One, Dr Colm Henry urged pregnant women experiencing pain or fever to seek medical advice from trusted medical professionals, reports RTE.
“I would urge anybody who’s worried, especially people who have symptoms, to contact a trusted source of advice. Namely their healthcare professional, especially for women who are pregnant, who are suffering pain or fever,” he said, reports RTE.
Dr Henry added: “They should seek advice from their general practitioner, and it’s sometimes in those circumstances, it’s advised that people take medication in order to combat the effects of fever.
“And as would with any medication we advise during pregnancy, we always advise the lowest possible dose for the shortest period of time. But the trusted source of advice for people in the community is their own healthcare professional, who in turn receives their advice from the agencies I mentioned who process interpret an issue advice based on on all the information that has accrued over many years of using this medication,” reports RTE.
Dr Henry also emphasized that no scientific link exists between vaccines and autism.
The incoming president of the Psychological Society of Ireland has labeled Mr Trump’s remarks about paracetamol use in pregnancy as “more than worrisome,” reports RTE.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Dr Sarah Cassidy said that the comments made by Mr Trump were dangerous.
“I think research takes a long time to do,” she said, “and as a person who has spent a lot of my career conducting research, I think that it’s really, really worrisome that information about vaccines, which have been entirely discredited, would be brought back into the media. This doesn’t belong in the media … I think this is dangerous,” reports RTE.
Dr Cassidy advised women to speak to their medical doctors if they or a small child or baby has a fever.
“Tylenol, acetaminophen have been shown to be safe in doses as approved by medical doctors and by the FDA and by a number of different scientific outlets. So, I have no concerns about that,” she said, reports RTE.
In relation to autism, she said that it is not a disease “nor is it an epidemic”, adding that to even discuss it “in those terms is what is worrisome”.
Dr Cassidy said that the number of people being diagnosed with autism is due to better diagnosis and more awareness.
“It is true that the rate of diagnosis has increased, but I don’t think that the numbers of people who are autistic has increased,” she said, reports RTE.
“I think our methods of assessment and our tools and our sensitivity and specificity, I think that is what has improved. I think that’s what’s better now,” reports RTE.
Meanwhile, Kenvue—the company behind Tylenol—has strongly refuted any claims that acetaminophen is linked to autism.
In a statement it said: “The facts are that over a decade of rigorous research, endorsed by leading medical professionals and global health regulators, confirms there is no credible evidence linking acetaminophen to autism. We stand with the many public health and medical professionals who have reviewed this science and agree,” reports RTE.
Professor Monique Botha, who specialises in social and developmental psychology at Durham University, said there is no solid scientific data suggesting paracetamol use in pregnancy raises the risk of autism.
She explained that autism, ADHD, and learning disabilities are largely genetic.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne, Professor Botha said the Trump administration is muddying the water on an emotive topic and it is an abuse of power.
“There were a lot of statements that were made yesterday that have no evidence base, including, for example, the ludicrous claim that the Amish community doesn’t particularly experience autism,” reports RTE.
“It’s not true, the claim that the MMR vaccine is better taken spread out instead of as a combi vaccine. Again, there’s no evidence for this,” she said, reports RTE.
Kingston Mills, Professor of Experimental Immunology at Trinity College Dublin, reinforced the effectiveness of the MMR vaccine in protecting children against life-threatening illnesses.
Humans get infected with multiple pathogens all the time, Professor Mills said, and we respond to them and recover.
“The evidence is that we get infected with multiple pathogens all the time in our nose. We could have, in our nose, two or three different viruses at the same time that cause the common cold, and we respond to them, and we recover from cold. So we have the ability to respond to multiple pathogens, these are bacteria, viruses, all the time. It’s the same with a vaccine. We’ve the ability,” reports RTE.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne, he said he hoped that the Trump administration’s take on the MMR would not affect uptake rates in Ireland where people are “well informed and pretty sensible”.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends.
