Why Medication Safety in Pregnancy Is Still a Mystery

Science Quickly

Scientific American

Science

4.3 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 24 October 2025

⏱️ 12 minutes

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Summary

When the U.S. president claimed that acetaminophen use during pregnancy could cause autism in a person’s offspring, it reignited a deeper conversation about how little we know about medication safety for pregnant people. In this episode, Scientific American senior health editor Tanya Lewis explains why pregnant individuals are routinely excluded from clinical trials—and how that gap in research puts millions at risk. Recommended Reading Nobody Knows How Tylenol Really Works Is Tylenol Safe for Children? Does Tylenol Use during Pregnancy Cause Autism? What the Research Shows E-mail us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new every day: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura. Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck fact-check the show. The theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:52.3	The president of the United States recently claimed that the use of acetaminopin, commonly known by the brand name Tylenol, during pregnancy and early childhood, could be linked to autism in kids.
1:03.7	But these claims aren't supported by the scientific evidence, and they highlight a much bigger problem. We know shockingly little about medication safety during pregnancy.
1:13.9	For decades, pregnant people have been excluded from most clinical trials, leaving doctors
1:18.5	and patients to make decisions with incomplete information.
1:22.0	As many as 80 to 90% of people take prescription medication during pregnancy, yet fewer
1:27.3	than 1% of clinical trials
1:29.1	include them, according to a recent study.
1:31.6	The result is a health care system that protects pregnant people from research rather than
1:36.5	through it.
1:38.1	Here to explain why we lack this crucial data and what needs to change is Tanya Lewis, Senior
1:43.4	Health Desk Editor at Scientific American.
1:47.5	Tanya, thanks so much for coming on to chat with us.
1:50.1	Yeah, thanks so much for having me.
	...

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