Paracetamol and pregnancy: the real story is a lack of funding for women’s health research

Pregnant women are often excluded from clinical trials, leaving an evidence gap and enabling unsubstantiated claims, write Caroline Dale and colleagues On 22 September, US president Donald Trump, accompanied by his health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, advised against using Tylenol (paracetamol) during pregnancy.1 They inaccurately linked it to an increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children exposed during pregnancy. In the United Kingdom, the Science Media Centre brought forward a wide range of leading clinicians and scientists from pharmacology, obstetrics and gynaecology, and neuroscience, all of whom provided clear, robust, and evidence based reassurance on the safety of paracetamol in pregnancy.2 Health agencies and regulators worldwide, including the UK’s Medicines and Health products Regulatory Agency, the European Medicines Agency, and Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration, have unequivocally refuted a causal link between the use of paracetamol during pregnancy and childhood neurodevelopmental problems.345 Still, those of us working at the clinical interface were already bracing ourselves …