TRUMP: “I wanna say it like it is, don’t take Tylenol”

Days after US President Donald Trump linked autism to Tylenol use by pregnant women, the medical community is pushing back saying the claim is not backed by scientific evidence.

Viktor Ahlqvist is author of the world’s largest study on autism and the use of Tylenol, known generically as both acetaminophen and paracetamol.

“Trump’s administration seems to have misunderstood the available evidence. We do not find support that paracetamol in pregnancy would cause autism. I think that this is an alarming message and it’s an ill-backed message.”

Ahlqvist joins the chorus of medical, research and autism advocacy groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, who not only denounce Trump’s claim, but also say it unfairly heaps blame on pregnant women.

“It is deeply concerning when politicians use a megaphone to sort of put blame on mothers, just like we did in the 1960s. We were claiming it was the mothers’ fault that their children were sick, and it was the refrigerator mom. This sounds like the same ideas just spun over and over again. We’re pointing the fingers at families who have a sick child that it must be their fault.”

TRUMP: “Don’t take it.”

Trump, at a White House press conference Monday flanked by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and senior health officials, warned women of the autism link, despite scant evidence, and said his administration would add warnings to drug labels to highlight the risk.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its website and the US Food and Drug Administration sent letters to providers warning of a risk, with the caveat that no causal relationship between acetaminophen and autism had been established.

Acetaminophen is the only pain reliever considered safe for pregnant women.

Doctors already urge women to use the least amount of the drug while pregnant to control pain and fever during pregnancy.

Untreated fever and pain during pregnancy are known to increase the risk of birth defects, preterm birth, low birth weight and miscarriage and other health problems.