Research Finds Tylenol Usage During Pregnancy Does Not Cause Autism
CEE Postdoctoral Research Associate Megan Woodbury has been working on research examining language development impairment with Tylenol usage during pregnancy and finds there is no direct link between acetaminophen use and autism.
This article originally appeared on Northeastern Global News. It was published by Kate Rix. Main photo: Robert F. Kennedy, the U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services, issued a report citing Tylenol use as a potential causes of autism. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University.
Use of Tylenol during pregnancy does not cause autism, experts say
The occasional use of acetaminophen during pregnancy to treat a headache or fever is safe and will not cause autism or other neurodevelopmental disorders, say two Northeastern University health care experts.
“If you take two 500 milligrams of Tylenol one or two times during your pregnancy, that is simply not enough to cause epigenetic damage,” says Elyse Watkins, an associate clinical professor with expertise in obstetrics and gynecology, and the associate director of the university’s Doctor of Medical Science in Healthcare Leadership program. “Ending up with a high fever is way more harmful than 1,000 milligrams of Tylenol.”
Watkins was responding to a report from President Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy, the U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services, citing Tylenol use and folate (vitamin B9) deficiency as potential causes of autism.
The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine reaffirmed its recommendation that acetaminophen is an appropriate medication to treat pain and fever during pregnancy, stating that untreated fever, particularly in the first trimester, increases the risk of miscarriage, birth defects and premature birth.
“At this time, the weight of scientific evidence that acetaminophen use during pregnancy causes an increased risk for autism or ADHD is simply inconclusive,” SMFM President Sindhu K. Srinivas, MD says in a statement. “In maternal-fetal medicine, as in all of medicine, our recommendations are based on an evaluation of rigorous research and data, clinical expertise, and our patients’ values and preferences.”
It is important to consider when, during pregnancy, a woman uses acetaminophen, says
Megan Woodbury, a postdoctoral research associate at Northeastern’s PROTECT Research Center. Woodbury researched the safety of using acetaminophen during pregnancy in 2023.
Using data collected from 532 pregnant women who participated in the Illinois Kids Development Study between December 2013 and March 2020, they measured acetaminophen use at six points during pregnancy — approximately every four to six weeks. The women’s children were then evaluated for language skills when they were around 2 years old and later at 3. That data was compared to data from peers.
Woodbury and colleagues at the University of Illinois found no association between acetaminophen use in the first trimester and delayed language development. However, increased use during the second trimester was related to lower language scores at age 3 and smaller vocabulary size at age 2.
Language development is often impaired in conditions like autism, but Woodbury cautions against considering her findings as evidence of a direct link between acetaminophen use and autism.
Read full story at Northeastern Global News