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Pregnant women in ERs took less Tylenol after Trump autism warning (www.npr.org)
submitted 8 months ago by to c/health@lemmy.world
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Trump told pregnant women in September 2025 to avoid Tylenol because taking it would increase their babies' risk of autism: "Taking Tylenol is not good — I'll say it: It's not good."

Doctors and scientists quickly said the data didn't support the president's claim, but emergency room orders for Tylenol, or acetaminophen, for pregnant patients went down 10% in the months that followed, according to a new study in The Lancet. There was no change in the acetaminophen orders for comparable women who weren't pregnant.

"It happened overnight," says Dr. Jeremy Faust, an emergency physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston who led the study. The president's words "had an immediate impact on how much Tylenol or acetaminophen was being ordered in emergency departments."

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[+] -25 points 8 months ago* (18 children)

To be fair, Tylenol is worse for you than other comparable painkillers. I’m going to put this one in the penny pile, the short list of decisions that I don’t completely disagree with.

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  • [–] 16 points 8 months ago (7 children)

    Username checks out

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  • [+] -17 points 8 months ago (6 children)

    I recognize that you want to dunk on someone for saying that trump has done 2 things that don’t make them want to pull out their hair, but when your confused, emaciated mother accidentally doubles her Tylenol dosage and ends up in the hospital, I don’t imagine you’ll feel the same about an OTC pain reliever with a deleterious dosage so close to the daily. “Username checks out” #32.

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  • [–] 24 points 8 months ago (5 children)

    While I'm sure your anecdotal experience feels very important to you, the truth is that for a lot of pregnant women, acetaminophen is the only safe painkiller/fever reducer available to them and it is not only safe, but absolutely required to avoid much more serious complications.

    "Medical groups, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, have defended acetaminophen in the recommended doses as the safest option to treat fever in pregnant women. Untreated fevers themselves are linked to an increased risk of neurological disorders in babies."

    https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/05/health/tylenol-acetaminophen-autism-trump.html

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  • [+] -6 points 8 months ago* (4 children)

    I won’t argue against reputable peer reviewed data. It’s deeply unsatisfying to learn that there have been no strides made to increase options for pregnant people.

    Unpaywalled for you

    https://www.acog.org/news/news-releases/2025/09/acog-affirms-safety-benefits-acetaminophen-pregnancy

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  • [–] 9 points 8 months ago

    As with all medical research up to now unfortunately, anyone who isn't a white cis male is treated as a second class citizen - especially in the areas of pain relief. Couple that with the desire to maximize profits, and the drug companies don't bother looking to make real improvements.

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  • [–] 4 points 8 months ago (2 children)

    How would you propose finding more drugs for pregnant women? Because generally double blind clinical trials is the best way. Experimenting on pregnant women is considered unethical, which is part of the problem.

    Yes, it would be great if we knew more but the fact of the matter is that there is neither the commercial impetus to study more, more the ethical ease of consent from a foetus.

    Most data on safety comes from drugs already in use and 'presumed' safe due to their long standing use. Newer drugs are avoided but when taken without realizing they are pregnant or if there is no later active and studying the outcome is the only available options. That doesn't give much data.

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  • [–] 0 points 8 months ago (1 child)

    I understand what you’re putting down, but it is still the same disappointing conclusion. The mechanical realities of the situation are irrelevant to someone already sighing and accepting, albeit overly verbosely, what they’ve learned.

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  • [–] 11 points 8 months ago (8 children)

    it can be worse if taken in excess but when taken with care it’s super safe, like most nsaids

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  • [–] 2 points 8 months ago (6 children)

    Tylenol isn't an nsaid, it's an analgesic/fever reducer. Not saying you're wrong about it being safe when taken with care, just pointing out it's not an anti-inflammatory.

    Nsaids generally hit your stomach the hardest, and analgesics take shots at your liver. That's why it's often suggested to switch back and fourth during prolonged sickness/pain. It helps reduce the risk of damaging either organ if it's not just one of them taking hits over and over again. And of course, don't take more than a suggested single dose at a time.

    Both types of OTC pain meds have their risks when not taken correctly, but none of those risks are giving your unborn child autism.

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  • [–] 2 points 8 months ago (5 children)

    Tylenol isn't an nsaid, it's an analgesic/fever reducer. Not saying you're wrong about it being safe when taken with care, just pointing out it's not an anti-inflammatory.

    You right.

    But, to save face can we argue about it for a few comments?

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  • [–] 2 points 8 months ago (4 children)

    Sure! But in true internet argument fashion, let's drop the original subject and squabble about something completely different instead!

    I think you meant to say "You're right."

    While I appreciate that you used a period to denote the end of the sentence, and you didn't make the classic mistake of writing "your right", what you wrote out was not grammatically correct. I am going to use it to validate that anything else you have to say from here on out is invalid.

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  • [–] 2 points 8 months ago (3 children)

    Well I’m gonna tell you that you should stop acting arrogant to someone who may not speak English as a first language.

    Did you just assume my first language?

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  • [–] 2 points 8 months ago (2 children)

    Oh shit! I've been bested! I think this is the part where I am supposed to just down vote you and stop responding, and then go complain on a right leaning sublemmy that there are too many foreigners on the platform.

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