Overview

• President Donald Trump publicly urged pregnant women to avoid acetaminophen, asserting an association with autism that major medical organizations say is unsupported by causal evidence.
• A large JAMA study led by Drexel’s Brian Lee found that, after sibling comparisons to account for familial factors, there was no association between maternal acetaminophen use and autism.
• Health and Human Services announced a $50 million Autism Data Science Initiative, and the administration said the FDA would approve leucovorin for autistic children, positions scientists and clinicians viewed as outpacing established evidence.
• The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine and ACOG continue to recommend acetaminophen for fever and pain in pregnancy because untreated symptoms can endanger the fetus, especially early in gestation.
• Advocates warn that the administration’s messaging could feed punitive approaches to pregnancy, noting a report of more than 400 prosecutions for pregnancy-related offenses in the two years since Dobbs, and clinicians caution against substituting ibuprofen due to documented pregnancy risks.