KENDALL, Fla. — Dr. Joanna Bedell asked her patients on Tuesday to avoid getting medical advice from politicians.
Bedell, an obstetrician-gynecologist based in Miami-Dade County, reacted to President Donald Trump’s suggestion that Tylenol use during pregnancy is linked to autism.
“If anything, acetaminophen is pretty much the only safe pain medication that pregnant patients can take,” Bedell said about its use to treat fever and pain.
Trump’s announcement was part of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again campaign’s focus on the potential causes of autism, and not because of new scientific evidence.
Dr. Steven Fleischman, the president of The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said in a statement that the announcement was not backed by “the full body of scientific evidence and dangerously simplifies” the causes of autism.
“It is highly unsettling that our federal health agencies are willing to make an announcement that will affect the health and well-being of millions of people without the backing of reliable data,” Fleischman said.
Trump said the Food and Drug Administration was set to start notifying doctors that the use of acetaminophen “can be associated” with an increased risk of autism. Kenvue, the New Jersey-based maker of Tylenol, disputed the claim.
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