**President Trump’s Warning About Tylenol and Autism Impacted Pregnant Women’s Medication Use, New Study Finds**

In September 2025, President Trump advised pregnant women to avoid Tylenol, claiming that taking the common pain reliever increased the risk of autism in their babies. “Taking Tylenol is not good, I’ll say it: It’s not good,” he stated.

Despite doctors and scientists quickly refuting the president’s claim and emphasizing the lack of supporting data, a new study published in *The Lancet* reveals that emergency room orders for Tylenol (acetaminophen) for pregnant patients dropped by 10% in the months following the announcement. Importantly, acetaminophen orders did not change for comparable women who were not pregnant.

“It happened overnight,” said Dr. Jeremy Faust, an emergency physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston who led the study. He added, “The president’s words had an immediate impact on how much Tylenol or acetaminophen was being ordered in emergency departments.”

The study does not clarify whether the decrease was due to patients refusing Tylenol or doctors prescribing it less frequently. Dr. Faust suspects it was likely a combination of both. “This is thousands of women not getting pain control or not getting fever reduction when they need it, when they want it, and when they would benefit from it,” he explained.

It’s important to note that the study was limited to emergency department visits and did not account for over-the-counter Tylenol use at home. The data analyzed came from electronic health records across more than 1,600 hospitals.

Dr. Caleb Alexander, an epidemiology professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, commented on the findings, saying, “Words matter. And when they come from someone with as big an audience as the president of the United States, they can change prescriber and patient behavior.” He found it reassuring that Tylenol use appeared to be returning to normal levels by December, noting that “it usually takes more than a single event to change prescribing patterns long term.”

Although the president and his health team discussed updating Tylenol’s label in the fall, no changes have been made to date. Kenvue, the company that manufactures Tylenol, told investors last month that Tylenol consumption had “improved” in December.

“We stand with science and continue to believe that there is no credible data that shows a proven link between taking acetaminophen and autism,” said Melissa Witt, a spokesperson for Kenvue.

The study also examined prescriptions for leucovorin, a B vitamin, which surged after President Trump suggested it as a treatment for autism. Notably, leucovorin prescriptions had not declined by the end of the study period in early December. However, large clinical trials testing leucovorin’s efficacy in autism have not been conducted.

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*The findings highlight the powerful influence of public statements on medical behavior and underscore the importance of basing health recommendations on robust scientific evidence.*
https://www.npr.org/2026/03/05/nx-s1-5732929/tylenol-pregnant-women-autism-trump-warning