09/23/2025
                                            🤰PRENATAL ACETAMINOPHEN USE AND THE LINK TO NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS 🧠
✨ WHAT DOES THE RESEARCH SAY?
📊 Autism diagnoses have risen:
 • 2006: ~1 in 110 children by age 8
 • 2025: ~1 in 31 children (CDC, April 2025)
🔬 Research findings:
 • Frequent or prolonged acetaminophen (Tylenol) use during pregnancy has been linked in several large observational studies to higher rates of neurodevelopmental disorders in children.
 •❗️Important: These studies show association, not causation — they do not prove that Tylenol use during pregnancy causes autism.
📖 A review in BMC Environmental Health, co-authored by Dr. Andrea Baccarelli (Dean, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health), reported links between acetaminophen and neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism.
💬 Dr. Baccarelli states:
“Appropriate and immediate steps should be taken to advise pregnant women to limit acetaminophen consumption to protect their offspring’s neurodevelopment.”
📎 Study link: https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12940-025-01208-0
👉 As pediatricians, we recognize that fever and pain during pregnancy also carry risks. The current guidance (FDA & CDC): acetaminophen remains the safest OTC pain reliever in pregnancy — but it should be used at the lowest effective dose, for the shortest time necessary.
Always discuss medication use with your healthcare provider. 💙