Once again, Trump has taken his seat in the White House and did what he does best: make outrageous, incorrect and harmfully misleading claims without any scientific or factual evidence.
On September 23rd, Trump, along with his US Secretary of Health, Robert F Kennedy Jr, made an impassioned speech about how he found the “answer to autism”. How does his administration plan to tackle this “crisis”? Apparently by restricting the use of pain relief in the form of Tylenol to pregnant women.
The US President went out to warn that Tylenol (known as paracetamol in the UK) use during pregnancy should be limited unless medically necessary, “that’s for instance, in case you feel you can’t tough it” out as he believes that use of the pain relief medication in pregnant women is linked to babies developing autism, despite there being no accurate evidence that supports his claims.
Between 50-80% of women in the United States are affected by pain during pregnancy, suffering from back pain, pelvic pain, migraines, sciatica and countless other discomforts. Trump’s misinformation about women’s antenatal care and his recommendation that women limit pain relief during pregnancy shows just how little the government and elected officials care and are informed about women’s health, especially reproductive health.
In the United States, approximately 6.5 million women suffer from endometriosis, yet according to studies from Yale Medicine, it takes them an average of 10 years and up to five visits to different healthcare providers to be diagnosed correctly.
Maternal mortality rate is also on the rise in the US, having the highest maternal mortality rate in developed nations, especially amongst black women, who are three or four times more likely to die during childbirth compared to white women.
The general public of the United States have elected an administration in charge of decisions on healthcare, reproductive rights and abortion, led by a president who is uninformed about basic diagnoses, makes fearmongering statements about health issues and cannot even pronounce the said medicine he expertly advocates against.
His obvious ignorance about women’s reproductive health and antenatal care by expecting women to “tough out” discomfort without pain relief during pregnancy is an insight into everything wrong with the healthcare system: where women’s health conditions are misdiagnosed, ignored and mistreated.
As well as perpetuating false information at the expense of women’s health, Trump’s beliefs about the causes of autism can be responsible for creating a community of stigma and blame around the developmental disorder.
Autism is a neurodevelopmental difference that influences social interactions, behaviour and communication; it is not an illness, disease or “crisis” that can be cured or medically treated.
The idea that it is caused by vaccines and paracetamol is not only scientifically wrong, it is also harmful for parents whose kids have been diagnosed.
It creates an environment of reproach and blame, where it’s instilled that mothers could have ‘prevented’ autism in their babies by not ingesting paracetamol during pregnancy or vaccinating their children against serious viral infections.
Children being diagnosed with autism is not a crisis, as Trump called it. The real crisis is the lack of support families have, the long waiting lists to be diagnosed and the unmet social and educational care autistic children receive.
On average, children and their families are forced to wait three years from the time of first concern of developmental delay to an autism assessment in the USA, according to a 2023 medical news report.
Many healthcare workers and scientists are appalled by Trump’s theories, as there have been no links found between pregnant women ingesting Paracetamol or MMR vaccines and autism.
Scientists urge the public to listen to doctors instead of Trump and have warned pregnant women about the risks of not taking paracetamol if they are experiencing pain or fever.
In pregnant women, untreated fever and pain can cause high blood pressure, dehydration, depression and anxiety, and other health problems. Untreated maternal fever and pain during foetal development can also increase the risks of birth defects, according to the NHS website.
Mel Merritt, Head of Policy and Campaigns at the National Autistic Society responded to Trump’s speech, claiming that: “such dangerous pseudo-science is putting pregnant women and children at risk and devaluing autistic people.”