{"id":85815,"date":"2025-09-24T10:14:48","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T16:14:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=85815"},"modified":"2025-09-25T12:18:19","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T18:18:19","slug":"does-taking-tylenol-during-pregnancy-cause-autism-the-evidence-says-no","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/does-taking-tylenol-during-pregnancy-cause-autism-the-evidence-says-no\/","title":{"rendered":"Does taking Tylenol during pregnancy cause autism? The evidence says ‘no.’"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>
\"Pregnant
Does taking Tylenol during pregnancy cause autism? The evidence says “no.” Photo Getty Images.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Researchers have not found evidence that taking acetaminophen <\/a>during pregnancy causes autism spectrum disorder in children, and there are good reasons for moms-to-be to take the drug \u2014 also known as Tylenol and paracetamol \u2014 for pain and fever.<\/span><\/p>\n

The pregnancy-related risks associated with medications, including\u00a0ibuprofen<\/a>\u00a0(Advil, Motrin) and\u00a0opioids,<\/a> have made acetaminophen the default pain reliever and fever reducer during those vital nine months.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet the Trump Administration highlighted<\/a> a possible acetaminophen-autism link on Sept. 22, and there\u2019s a pending U.S. Food and Drug Administration safety-label recommendation<\/a> that pregnant women avoid acetaminophen.<\/p>\n

Dr. Jennifer Braverman<\/a>, a maternal fetal medicine specialist<\/a> who sees patients at UCHealth Maternal Fetal Medicine Clinic \u2013 Anschutz Medical Campus<\/a>, is among the many medical experts who disagree with the administration\u2019s position.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best-available data do not support this recommendation,\u201d said Braverman, who is also an associate professor<\/a> at the University of Colorado School of Medicine<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Many studies have explored acetaminophen and autism and found ‘no causative link’<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Among those who share Braverman’s opinion that Tylenol use during pregnancy does not cause autism are the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists<\/a>, the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine<\/a>, and the national medication-safety authorities of the European Union<\/a>, the United Kingdom<\/a>, and Australia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Supporting their view is recent peer-reviewed research, such as a study<\/a> involving 2.5 million Swedish children published in the Journal of the American Medical Association<\/em> in August and a Japanese study<\/a> of 217,000 children published earlier this month. Both found no relationship between maternal acetaminophen use and autism.<\/p>\n

But other studies have noted an association \u2014 though never a causative link \u2014 between taking acetaminophen during pregnancy and autism. A recent review<\/a> by a Harvard-led team taking eight studies<\/a> into account concluded that a child exposed to acetaminophen in utero had a higher risk of developing autism than one not exposed to it.<\/p>\n

What causes autism? There are many causes, including genetics, older parents and pollution.\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

No one knows exactly what causes autism, and improvements in diagnosing it probably only play a partial role in the rising number<\/a> of children identified with the neurodevelopmental disorder. We do know\u00a0that there are\u00a0both genetic<\/a> and<\/span> environmental factors involved. Boys are about three times more likely to have autism than girls, and younger siblings of a child with autism have six times<\/a> the likelihood of having autism, suggesting a genetic cause. Also, older parents<\/a> \u2014 particularly men who have babies at older ages \u2014 are more likely to have a child with autism.<\/p>\n

Proven environmental factors range from air pollution<\/a> to low birth weight<\/a> to mom\u2019s health<\/a>, in particular with respect to gestational diabetes, maternal obesity, and infection during pregnancy. (Vaccines, to reiterate<\/a>, do not cause autism.)<\/p>\n

Such a range of potential causes, and the likelihood that combinations of factors trigger each autism case, cast doubt on acetaminophen\u2019s possible role in rising autism rates. Many of the early studies that suggested a potential link between acetaminophen use and autism did not account for the reason the pregnant person was taking Tylenol in the first place, Braverman says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is possible that fever, inflammation, or infection, rather than acetaminophen use itself, led to the association seen in these small studies between acetaminophen exposure and autism,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Untreated fevers are dangerous for pregnant women and babies<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Dr.
Dr. Jennifer Braverman, a maternal fetal medicine specialist with UCHealth. Photo: UCHealth<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While maternal pain can bring<\/a> problems such as depression and high blood pressure, Braverman is particularly concerned that women may choose to let a fever burn rather than take acetaminophen to douse it. In the first trimester, she says, fever is associated with increased risk of birth defects such as cleft lip and palate, as well as serious neural-tube defects such as spina bifida and anencephaly. In late pregnancy, fevers can boost the risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, and preterm birth, she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cFever has been associated with a lot of problems for babies,\u201d Braverman said. \u201cAnd what I worry about in particular is that people are either going to not treat fever, which we know is dangerous for fetuses, or that people are going to turn toward medications that we know are unsafe in pregnancy, things like ibuprofen or opioids.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regarding acetaminophen, Braverman says, \u201cI think it\u2019s the safest option we have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Acetaminophen is safe in general<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Dr. James Burton<\/a>, a transplant hepatologist, agrees. Burton specializes in the care of patients with acute and chronic liver disease at the UCHealth Hepatology Clinic<\/a> \u2014 Anschutz Medical Campus<\/a>. He says it takes one-time doses 10 to 15 times greater than the typical high-end dose of one gram \u2014 or six times the typical dose over several days \u2013 for acetaminophen to cause acute liver damage.<\/p>\n

\"Dr.
Dr. James Burton, a transplant hepatologist with UCHealth. Photo: UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cTylenol is safe to take, even if you have cirrhosis, and we recommend Tylenol or acetaminophen to our patients on our transplant list,\u201d said Burton, who is also a professor<\/a> at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s actually safer than taking ibuprofen in people with chronic liver disease, because ibuprofen can cause kidney dysfunction and it can cause gastrointestinal bleeding,” Burton said.<\/p>\n

While Braverman may view the focus on prenatal acetaminophen and autism to be misplaced, she agrees that pregnant patients should only take the medications they need to stay healthy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI tell my patients, whether you\u2019re pregnant or not, you shouldn\u2019t take a medicine for no reason,\u201d she said. \u201cIf you have a fever, if you have pain, we know that Tylenol is a safe and effective treatment for those things, and there aren\u2019t a lot of other options that are safe or effective in pregnancy.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Researchers have not found evidence that taking acetaminophen during pregnancy causes autism spectrum disorder in children, and there are good reasons for moms-to-be to take the drug \u2014 also known as Tylenol and paracetamol \u2014 for pain and fever. The pregnancy-related risks associated with medications, including\u00a0ibuprofen\u00a0(Advil, Motrin) and\u00a0opioids, have made acetaminophen the default pain reliever […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":66270,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[9261,4001,57,4010,212],"class_list":["post-85815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-autism","tag-high-risk-pregnancy","tag-pregnancy-childbirth-newborn-care","tag-pregnancy-childbirth-and-newborn-care","tag-womens-care"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDoes taking Tylenol during pregnancy cause autism? 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