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You might recall the infamous press conference in September 2025 where President Trump and his health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, claimed there was a crisis in autism spectrum disorder and blamed paracetamol use during pregnancy. President Trump even told women that if they were sick in pregnancy they should just “tough it out”.
Both allegations were swiftly debunked by scientific evidence.
There is no crisis in autism spectrum disorder diagnoses. The incidence has increased slightly to around 3% of births, but this is primarily due to changes in criteria for diagnosis. These diagnostic changes have actually been beneficial, allowing parents to better recognise when their child might be on the spectrum and seek support earlier.
The researchers found no meaningful link with autism spectrum disorder, ADHD or intellectual disability.
The largest ever study on paracetamol and pregnancy followed 2.4 million Swedish children for 26 years.
Of these, 186,000 had been exposed to paracetamol during pregnancy. Crucially, researchers compared siblings – one exposed to paracetamol during pregnancy, and one not – which allowed factors like genetics and home environment to be taken into account.
The result was no increased risk of autism.
In January 2025, the Lancet published a comprehensive review of 43 studies using the same sibling comparison – where one had been exposed to paracetamol during pregnancy and the other hadn’t. The researchers found no meaningful link with autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, or intellectual disability.
What we know definitively is that maternal fever and infection during pregnancy can have real risks for the baby. Paracetamol is the recommended first treatment to control the fever because it’s safe and effective. This is also why COVID-19 and influenza immunisations during pregnancy are strongly recommended, presenting infection protects both mother and baby.
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