Local mothers, medical experts react to Trump administration links Tylenol to autism

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The Trump administration took to the podium Monday, stating the use of Tylenol or acetaminophen during pregnancy may increase the risk of autism.

The Food and Drug Administration will notify doctors immediately.

"They are strongly recommending women limit Tylenol use during pregnancy unless medically necessary," said President Donald Trump.

The FDA's notice states:

"To be clear, while an association between acetaminophen and autism has been described in many studies, a causal relationship has not been established and there are contrary studies in the scientific literature," and the association is an ongoing area of scientific debate.

Dr. David Mandell, a psychiatry professor at the University of Pennsylvania, said this research is challenging.

"You have to separate out the effects of taking acetaminophen from the reasons women take it, and the studies, especially the two most recent studies that take these things into account, find that acetaminophen does not increase the risk for autism," said Dr. Mandell.

Dr. Amelle Williams, who is an OBGYN at Virtua Health, wants patients to know:

"Using Tylenol for pain relief in pregnancy is not linked to autism in their children or their fetuses, and that using Tylenol as a pain reliever and as a fever reducer is safe and sometimes, actually often times, that high fever or that really terrible headache is more damaging to the pregnancy."

Local expecting mothers said they'll continue to follow their own protocol.

"That is a little insane and I hope that isn't completely true," said Haylie Gaynor from Prospect Park. "I don't take Tylenol or anything like that. I just push through it."

"Personally, I don't feel like I know enough about the research and given Tylenol is one of the only things I can take if I have a headache or feel uncomfortable, I'm going to still take the Tylenol," said Jenna Whetstone, who is a registered nurse from Ardmore.

Dr. Williams urges all patients to talk to their doctors.

"We want you guys to be able to trust us. We want to help. We want to give you the information we spent so much time trying to parse out and learn. We are here to help you," said Dr. Williams.

Kenvue, the maker of Tylenol, said in a statement: "Acetaminophen is the safest pain reliever option for pregnant women as needed throughout their entire pregnancy. Without it, women face dangerous choices: suffer through conditions like fever that are potentially harmful to both mom and baby or use riskier alternatives."