In a recent statement, former President Donald Trump reiterated his caution against the use of Tylenol by pregnant women, advising them to refrain from taking it unless absolutely essential. Furthermore, he discouraged administering the medication to children for nearly any reason and suggested altering the administration of certain vaccines.
This renewed advisory follows a previous declaration a month ago, where Trump, along with leading health officials, advised against pregnant women using acetaminophen—the active ingredient in Tylenol—citing a potential but unproven connection to autism. Despite the lack of new scientific evidence confirming such risks, the recommendation was noteworthy given that acetaminophen is generally considered the safest pain relief option for expectant mothers.
In a Sunday post, Trump reiterated his stance, emphasizing the need for caution.
“Pregnant Women, DON’T USE TYLENOL UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY, DON’T GIVE TYLENOL TO YOUR YOUNG CHILD FOR VIRTUALLY ANY REASON, BREAK UP THE MMR SHOT INTO THREE TOTALLY SEPARATE SHOTS (NOT MIXED!), TAKE CHICKEN P SHOT SEPARATELY, TAKE HEPATITAS B SHOT AT 12 YEARS OLD, OR OLDER, AND, IMPORTANTLY, TAKE VACCINE IN 5 SEPARATE MEDICAL VISITS! President DJT,” Trump stated in a Truth Social post, linking to a Daily Caller piece alleging the FDA’s silence on potential Tylenol dangers.
Last month, Trump also shared his personal opinions on childhood vaccination schedules, suggesting parents follow his guidance based on his beliefs rather than established medical consensus.
The president also gave personal suggestions last month on when and how parents should have their children receive certain vaccines, offering advice he said was based on his own feelings.
Jim O’Neill, the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has endorsed Trump’s call to split the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, despite no research supporting the change.
Both the World Health Organization and the European Union have refuted Trump’s assertion that acetaminophen may cause conditions like autism and ADHD when taken by pregnant women. The FDA acknowledged that “a causal relationship has not been established” in public statements following Trump’s initial plea.
Medical organizations have also backed acetaminophen as safe for pregnant women, including both the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine.
However, Trump and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in September that the FDA would begin updating the label on acetaminophen and notifying physicians that Tylenol “can be associated with a very increased risk of autism.”
Last week, Tylenol maker Kenvue called on the FDA to pull back on the proposed safety label change. The current label instructs people who are pregnant or breastfeeding to “ask a health professional before use.”
In response to a citizen petition filed last month, the company said the “expansive scientific evidence developed over many years” does not support a causal link between acetaminophen use in pregnancy and developmental disorders.
The citizen petition was filed by the Informed Consent Action Network, an anti-vaccine nonprofit with close ties to Kennedy.
“Acetaminophen is one of the most studied medicines in history, and scientific evidence regarding acetaminophen use in pregnancy and neurodevelopmental outcomes has been continuously evaluated by FDA and industry for more than a decade,” Kenvue said.
The company noted that adopting the change would be “arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to law.”
Kenvue said last week that it had met with Kennedy and other HHS staff in early September after he reached out to “express his view about an association between acetaminophen and autism.”
The company said it told Kennedy the science did not support a causal link for pregnant women, nor did it support an association between postnatal use of acetaminophen and autism and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.
