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Does Tylenol use during pregnancy cause autism? Here's what science says

After the president urged pregnant women to avoid Tylenol, rumors about its effects spread rapidly online — all with varying degrees of truth.

by Aleksandra Wrona, Sept. 24, 2025


Image courtesy of Getty Images / Snopes Illustration


In September 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump suggested that Tylenol was linked to autism and urged pregnant women to avoid it, despite the fact there's no proof to support the claim.

For instance, one purely anecdotal rumor claimed a pregnant woman overdosed on the over-the-counter pain reliever in an attempt to "prove Trump wrong." A widely circulated social media post showed a fake response to Trump's remarks from Tylenol, "Nice try. Release the Epstein files." Some people shared a 2017 social media post by Tylenol about pregnancy safety without proper context or questioned whether autism existed before the invention of the drug.

Here are five rumors inspired by Trump's comments about Tylenol, autism and pregnancy fact-checked by Snopes:


By Aleksandra Wrona

Aleksandra Wrona is a reporting fellow for Snopes, based in the Warsaw, Poland, area.

Inspecting rumor claiming pregnant woman overdosed on Tylenol trying to 'prove Trump wrong'

Sept. 30, 2025

No antidote for an anecdote.

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Graphic of a Tylenol bottle and a bunch of red Tylenol pills overlaid atop a background of toy bricks often used for stimming

Which was discovered first, autism or Tylenol? What to know

Sept. 27, 2025

The condition that became known as autism was described before the Tylenol brand was created. Au ...

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Checking rumored Tylenol response to Trump autism announcement

Sept. 24, 2025

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Sept. 22, 2025, that taking Tylenol was linked to autism.

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A post from X account @tylenol says, "We actually don't recommend using any of our products while pregnant. Thank you for taking the time to voice your concerns today." Products can faintly be seen in the background.

Contextualizing 2017 Tylenol post about pregnancy recommendations

Sept. 24, 2025

The post shared on social media was authentic, but Tylenol maker Kenvue said the response was "i ...

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Does Tylenol use during pregnancy cause autism? Here's what science says

Sept. 24, 2025

There's no definitive evidence that Tylenol causes autism, and multiple medical groups have reit ...

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