New Mexico autism advocacy organization, doctor concerned about President Trump's autism claims

After President Donald Trump spread misinformation about over the counter pain medicine and autism in a White House news conference Monday, a New Mexico-based autism advocacy group and an Albuquerque doctor are worried that pregnant patients could ignore their pain or be burdened with “mom guilt.”

“There have been decades of research that has shown no causal link between acetaminophen in pregnancy and autism in children,” said Dr. Carla Martinez, an OBGYN at Perinatal Associates of New Mexico who specializes in high-risk pregnancies. “And there have been many robust studies of recent data that have reinforced that acetaminophen used during pregnancy does not lead to an increased risk of autism.”

Acetaminophen — sold under brand names like Tylenol — is one of the few medications that pregnant patients can use to treat pain and fever, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. announced that acetaminophen will get new warning labels against long-term use during pregnancy, garnering pushback from professional medical organizations. The president claimed that Tylenol use during pregnancy can be associated with an increased risk of autism — a claim that has not been proven.

“They are strongly recommending that women limit Tylenol use during pregnancy, unless medically necessary, for instance in cases of extremely high fever that you feel that you can’t tough it out,” Trump said.

The Food and Drug Administration took a more measured tone, recommending to doctors in a letter this week that they should “consider minimizing” the pain reliever’s use in pregnancy.

The president also announced 13 new funding awards for research into understanding autism prevalence, treatment and services.

Professional medical organizations have pushed back against HHS and the president’s claims.

“Today’s announcement by HHS is not backed by the full body of scientific evidence and dangerously simplifies the many and complex causes of neurologic challenges in children,” Dr. Steven Fleishman, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said in a statement.

Fevers can be a sign of infection and pain can also be an important symptom that Martinez does not want pregnant patients to fear consulting their doctor about. She often sees patients who want to stop all medications to minimize exposures in their pregnancy.

“But a pregnant patient is no different than any other patient, and the pain should be treated appropriately, and I think it’s really unfair and unjust to put that on pregnant patients,” Martinez said.

Christina Angel is a mother of two sons with autism, and the executive director of the Autism Society of New Mexico. The president’s news conference could have a negative effect on the autism community, according to Angel.

“It’s very dangerous for the autism community as a whole, but especially to our mothers that might feel guilty for something they did during pregnancy that was deemed safe,” Angel said. “We do support the medical community in saying that Tylenol is safe, and we want mothers to know that they did nothing wrong, and they did what they needed to do for themselves and their child.”