- On August 14, 2025, a new review indicated that children whose mothers consumed acetaminophen during pregnancy exhibited a higher likelihood of neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism and ADHD.
- The project utilized 46 studies encompassing over 100,000 mother-child pairs and used the Navigation Guide Systematic Review framework.
- The authors stressed that acetaminophen is still a good choice for lowering fever and pain during pregnancy and that the goal is not to make a blanket ban.
The Big Picture
On August 14, 2025, Environmental Health published a new review of the evidence. The review indicated that children whose mothers consumed acetaminophen during pregnancy exhibited a higher likelihood of neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism and ADHD. The paper combined results from different studies that came before it and came to the conclusion that the combined evidence pointed to a connection. At the same time, it also pointed out big problems with observational research.
What’s New
The project utilized 46 studies encompassing over 100,000 mother-child pairs. The research team was led by Andrea Baccarelli from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. They used the Navigation Guide Systematic Review framework to see how well and consistently studies worked for different groups. The study’s findings indicate that children exposed to particular prenatal factors have an increased risk for autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
The authors stressed that acetaminophen is still a good choice for lowering fever and pain during pregnancy, which can both harm the baby. The team said that the goal is not to make a blanket ban but to have doctors and patients talk carefully about the pros and cons.
What They’re Saying
Context
Acetaminophen is the same thing as paracetamol, and Tylenol is a brand name for it. Pregnant women can get this pain reliever without a prescription. Previous research has produced inconsistent outcomes, with certain cohorts showing correlations with subsequent neurodevelopmental diagnoses, while others display minimal or unclear effects. Observational designs cannot determine causation, and confounding variables, such as intrinsic motivations for medication use, may influence outcomes. The researchers say that the Navigation Guide method clears up these ambiguities by looking at the quality, consistency, and direction of the effects that have been reported in the literature.
What’s Next
Doctors and public health groups will probably look at these results along with the advice they already give. Use the smallest amount of acetaminophen that works for the least amount of time. In the future, more research, especially studies that look closely at why people use drugs, how much they take, when they take them, and their genes, could help find the people who are most likely to get sick.
The Bottom Line
The review bolsters concerns about the frequent or prolonged use of acetaminophen during pregnancy without endorsing a total ban. You should only treat a fever or bad pain after talking to a doctor.
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