The Trump administration stated on Monday that the use of Tylenol during pregnancy may be linked to an increased risk of autism.
In a news conference at the White House, President Donald Trump said the Food and Drug Administration will begin notifying physicians immediately that it is "strongly recommending that women limit Tylenol use during pregnancy unless medically necessary."
"They are strongly recommending that women limit Tylenol use during pregnancy unless medically necessary," Trump said. "That's, for instance, in cases of extremely high fever."
Officials from the Trump Administration cited a handful of studies that point to a potential link between autism and Tylenol use during pregnancy. To take a closer look at those studies, click here.
ABC11 spoke with Dr. Ebony Carter, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist with UNC Health. She said it's important to understand more about how these types of studies are conducted.
Dr. Carter said women who are pregnant or breastfeeding are typically excluded from clinical trials because of the risks involved. As a result, researchers must rely on retrospective studies rather than conducting their own randomized, controlled trials.
"What we are left with are studies where we look at people who took Tylenol and people who didn't take Tylenol," Carter explained. "In some of the early studies, there was some suggestion that maybe people who took Tylenol, their babies were at a slightly higher risk of autism."
However, Carter emphasized the importance of considering why someone took Tylenol in the first place, and she added that most physicians will recommend that people don't take any medication (including Tylenol) during pregnancy unless necessary.
"Those people were more likely to have an infection, chronic pain, ADHD, a mental health diagnosis than people who didn't take Tylenol," she said. "So, was it the Tylenol or was it the underlying reason that they took the Tylenol? And so that's actually really hard to figure out if you don't have a randomized trial."
One study she pointed to looked at siblings where the same mother took Tylenol during one pregnancy, but not the other.
"What do you think they found? There was no difference in autism risk. That's about as good as it's going to get, in terms of the limitations that exist," Carter said. "So, if you look at the high-quality, really well-done studies, you actually see that there is no increased risk."
To read the full study on siblings, click here.
Carter said that in many cases, Tylenol remains the safest option available for managing symptoms such as pain or fever during pregnancy. Without it, she said, a patient may be forced into more extreme medical decisions.
"For example, a patient comes in, they're 32 weeks pregnant. They have an unremitting headache. Their blood pressures are a little bit high. Their labs look OK. If I can give them Tylenol, and I can get rid of that headache. So, if I can give them Tylenol, then I can get rid of the headache," Carter said. "If I can't get rid of the headache, then the right answer is delivery, because at that point I'm really concerned about pre-eclampsia. So, the patient who comes in, in that situation is like, 'I don't want any Tylenol' and I can't get rid of the headache - it's really forcing my hand to move towards delivery."
She emphasized that early delivery comes with myriad risks.
"I don't want people to take an extra Tylenol and feel like they have doomed their future offspring for life. That is just simply not true," Carter said. "We always want it as a risk-benefit analysis, and for the vast majority of the time -- I can't really think of an example where it's not true -- Tylenol is the better option of the options that we have."
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ABC11 also spoke with David Laxton with the Autism Society of North Carolina. He echoed the statements made at the White House announcement that there is a rise in people being diagnosed with autism in recent years, but said there are many contributing factors.
"In our state, there's a lot of people that have been working for a long time to make sure people know what the signs and symptoms are so that there can be the early referral for diagnosis," Laxton said.
He added that growing public awareness and an expanded diagnostic criteria for autism have both contributed to the increase in diagnoses.
Laxton said he hopes that Monday's announcement continues to raise awareness about autism, increasing the possibility of early intervention.
"If a child with autism is able to get diagnosed at an earlier age, early intervention is really important to begin working on strategies to build on their strengths," Laxton said, and he added that it helps people with autism have a more independent and successful childhood and life when they're diagnosed early.
Laxton also said he's encouraged by the White House's pledge to invest more in autism research, though he is hopeful that research will expand beyond what causes autism and will focus as well on improving the quality of life for people who are already diagnosed.
"One of the debates within the autism community over time has been: are we spending more money on looking at causes, or do we need to be spending more money on looking at effective treatments and research into what are the needs of an aging autism community?" Laxton said.
To learn more about how to detect signs of autism, click here.
Despite differing opinions on this overall topic, doctors and experts agree: if you're pregnant and worried about Tylenol use, have a candid conversation with your doctor and decide what's right for you and your family.