The confusion over Tylenol, pregnancy and autism
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 23 September 2025
⏱️ 27 minutes
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Summary
President Donald Trump has made the search for finding a “cure” for autism a centerpiece of his public health agenda. This week he shared major developments in that effort.
On Monday, the Trump administration announced that the Food and Drug Administration would be adding a warning label to Tylenol and similar drugs that contain acetaminophen. Trump has suggested a connection between the widely used medication and autism. The president also promoted the drug leucovorin as a potential treatment for autism.
The announcement has led to confusion among many people about autism and the safety of Tylenol during pregnancy.
Joining “Post Reports” today to sift through this confusion is Washington Post White House reporter Dan Diamond. He and host Elahe Izadi also discuss what led to this announcement, what the Trump administration could do next and who pregnant patients should be turning to for health care.
Today’s episode was produced by Rennie Svirnovskiy, with help from Lucas Trevor. It was mixed by Sam Bair and edited by Elana Gordon. Thanks to Sabrina Malhi, Akilah Johnson, Ariana Eunjung Cha and Lynh Bui.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | And how many children do you have? |
| 0:02.7 | I am currently expecting my first one. |
| 0:05.7 | Wow, congratulations. |
| 0:07.7 | Exciting. |
| 0:08.4 | Thanks. |
| 0:09.4 | This is Sarah Weller. |
| 0:10.6 | She's 40, lives in upstate New York, and she's due to give birth next month. |
| 0:15.8 | She talked to my colleague, Sabrina Molly, about it. |
| 0:19.1 | Do you know what you're having? |
| 0:20.2 | That's going to be a boy. |
| 0:21.7 | Like a lot of other pregnant women, Sarah tries to do what she can to keep herself healthy |
| 0:26.7 | and give her baby a healthy future. And Sarah says she's a bit of a nerd. She likes |
| 0:33.0 | digging into studies. So when she heard about some concerns around Tylenol being linked to autism, |
| 0:40.6 | she looked into it. So when I first took pregnant, I had, of course, heard, you know, |
| 0:46.4 | the stuff about Tylenol, you know, people's thoughts on that before. And I immediately went |
| 0:52.5 | through and went down the rabbit hole of seeking out the actual scientific research. |
| 0:58.2 | In the end, Sarah says she felt good about taking Tylenol when she needed it. |
| 1:03.9 | But on Monday, President Donald Trump stood in the White House and had a different message for pregnant women. |
| 1:10.7 | Don't take Tylenol. Don't take it. If you just can't, I mean, it's a fight like hell not to take it. |
| 1:19.6 | He also said his administration had begun the process of issuing a new warning label for the active ingredient in Tylenol, one that would warn of a |
| 1:28.9 | possible connection to autism. Now, Sarah does worry. Not for her health. She still stands by her |
| 1:36.8 | decision, but for others who are pregnant and wrestling with this conflicting guidance. |
... |
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