Trump proposes new warnings on Tylenol for pregnant women

President Trump on Sunday again urged pregnant women not to take Tylenol “unless absolutely necessary,” to avoid giving the over-the-counter drug to children “for virtually any reason” and to break up doses of certain vaccines.

Trump’s renewed call comes a month after he and top health officials said pregnant women should not take acetaminophen — one of the world’s most widely used drugs — for pain relief because of a possible risk of autism, despite no new evidence that the drug directly causes it.

The advice was also notable because acetaminophen was seen as the safest pain medication for pregnant women to take.

But Trump doubled down on his call with a post on Sunday.

“Pregnant women, don’t use Tylenol unless absolutely necessary, don’t give Tylenol to your toddler for virtually any reason, separate the MMR shot into three completely separate shots, shot! Separately, get the hepatitis B shot at age 12 or older, and importantly, get the President D.J.T. vaccine at 5 separate medical visits,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social, a Daily Caller. Claimed to be associated with the article food and Dr. (FDA) was silent about potential Tylenol risks.

The president also gave personal advice last month about when and how parents should get their children certain vaccinations, advice he said was based on his own feelings.

Jim O’Neill, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, supported Trump’s call to split the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, even though there is no research to support the change.

Both the World Health Organization and the European Union have rejected Trump’s claims that acetaminophen can cause conditions such as autism and ADHD when taken by pregnant women. The FDA acknowledged that public statements after Trump’s initial appeal “did not establish a causal relationship.”

Medical organizations, including both the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, have also endorsed acetaminophen as safe for pregnant women.

However, Trump and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in September that the FDA would begin updating the labeling of acetaminophen and notify physicians that Tylenol “may be associated with a very high risk of autism.”

Last week, Tylenol maker Kenvue called on the FDA to reverse proposed safety label changes. The current label instructs people who are pregnant or breastfeeding to “consult a health professional before use.”

In response to a citizen petition filed last month, the agency said the “extensive scientific evidence developed over many years” does not support a causal link between acetaminophen use during 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 drugs in history, and the scientific evidence regarding acetaminophen use during pregnancy and neurodevelopmental outcomes has been continuously evaluated by the FDA and industry for more than a decade,” Kenvu said.

The agency noted that adopting the change would be “arbitrary, capricious and against the law.”

Kennevy said last week that he met with Kennedy and other HHS staff in early September when he reached out to “express his views about a link between acetaminophen and autism.”

The agency said it told Kennedy that the science does not support a causal link for pregnant women, nor does it support an association between acetaminophen and autism and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.