Listen to your doctor, not a politician

Whenever this administration begins talking about reproductive health, it doesn’t take long for my blood to start boiling.

This week was no different as President Donald Trump stood in front of America touting unfounded claims about the connection between acetaminophen (Tylenol) and autism.

I can’t speak for the autism community. I am not close to anyone with autism and have no expertise on the subject. However, simple common sense points out an increase in diagnoses does not equal an increase in autism.

In addition, to call autism a “horrible, horrible crisis” that is “destroying families,” dehumanizes the wonderful, loving individuals who have autism as one of many facets of who they are.

I’ve done my research on this topic. I’ve gone through the studies Trump cites. I’ve looked at a multitude of sources, those who agree and disagree with his sentiment. This administration loosely connects autism back to Tylenol in a similar way you could connect drinking water to drowning.

According to the National Institute of Health, many genetic and environmental influences have been proposed as autism risk factors. Overall, the theory of it being both genetic and environmental has been widely accepted.

Many of the possible environmental factors occur during pregnancy, such as gestational diabetes, PCOS, depression and infections. These are all listed as increased risks for autism.

There have been some studies that show a higher amount of acetaminophen in cord plasma samples was associated with higher odds of ADHD or autism.

But let’s look at what pregnant women use acetaminophen for — pain and fevers. Maternal infection is one of the environmental risk factors for autism. Infection often results in fever which results in Tylenol usage.

Prenatal stressors was found to have a positive association with autism. Pain can certainly be a stressor. The only acceptable medicine for prenatal pain is Tylenol.

This assertion is the same as saying “We surveyed 100,000 people who died from cancer and 86% of them had chemotherapy drugs in their system. Therefore, chemotherapy is the cause of cancer deaths.”

I experienced extreme pain during pregnancy. My first trimester was nausea and vomiting, and my second and third were all pain, all the time. I had pelvic girdle pain and symphysis pubic dysfunction, both of which include pain in the lower back, hips and pubic area and difficulty with movement.

At least half of my days ended with me being unable to walk. I would stand there and be physically unable to support myself on one leg to swing the other in front of me.

I took at least 2,000 mg of Tylenol daily — four pills. And I was still in excruciating pain. But what does Trump say during his press conference?

“But here’s the thing — there’s no downside, other than a mother will have to, as I say, tough it out, there’s no downside to doing this. It’s not like, oh if you do this, you’re going to die."

Tough it out, he says. I’ll tell you what, if men had to go through a process that would cause them to gain weight, create months of pain, make it so they couldn’t drink or smoke, ended with tearing apart their genitalia so that they would need stitches and were told they couldn’t take anything for pain management, abortion would not only be legal, it would be government funded.

Tough it out? Tell me how you tough it out when you’re working full time but can’t put one foot in front of the other? Tough it out? Do you know what maternal factor saw the biggest increase in association with autism — maternal depression. Do you know what makes you depressed? Being in chronic pain, especially with no relief.

Luckily, Trump knows the question we are all asking.

“First question — what can you take instead? It’s actually, there’s not an alternative to that, and as you know, other of the medicines are absolutely proven bad. I mean they’ve been proven bad with the Asprins and the Advils and others.”

Oh, good. The other medicines are “proven” bad. While this one is just being touted as harmful.

Acetaminophen usage has not been shown to cause autism. Women with autistic children — you did not cause your child’s autism. Let me say it again because the world is trying to beat you down. You did not cause your child’s autism.

Women who are scared and don’t know what to believe — talk to your doctor, not your resident politician.

Trump has said he wants to be the “fertilization president,” urging American couples to have more babies as birth rates decline in the U.S. This sentiment is shared by Vice President JD Vance.

They require us to birth babies, even against their will, causing the deaths and hospitalization of mothers. They advise against Tylenol, our only source of pain and fever medication. They blame mothers for their child’s autism diagnosis. And then they have the audacity to ask “Why are women having less babies?”

Mr. Trump, you are why women are having less babies. In Donald Trump’s America, I am scared to be pregnant.

If you want more information on the safety of Tylenol, don’t take it from me. Take it from the experts.

“Science is clear: there is no link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and autism in children. High-quality studies confirm acetaminophen’s safety for use during pregnancy.” - American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

“Autism is a complex disorder, and it is incorrect to imply that a handful of studies have established causation. A strong base of evidence shows that acetaminophen, when taken as directed, is safe for use during pregnancy.” - American Psychiatric Association

“There is currently no conclusive scientific evidence confirming a possible link between autism and use of acetaminophen (also known as paracetamol) during pregnancy.” - World Health Organization