The head of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services says a doctor may encourage a pregnant woman to take acetaminophen.
The head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Dr. Mehmet Oz, clarified federal guidance for when it’s safe for pregnant women to take acetaminophen after the Trump administration announced earlier this week that the common pain reliever could be linked to autism.
When asked by CBS News on Sept. 25 about whether recent federal guidelines stipulate whether pregnant women should “never take Tylenol under any circumstance,” Oz said, “Categorically, no.”
The former surgeon and longtime television personality known as Dr. Oz told the outlet that if a pregnant woman develops a fever, a doctor may encourage her to take acetaminophen, which is the active drug in Tylenol.
“The concern here is that I believe most women get low-grade fevers, they stub their toe, they have little aches and pains, and they think it’s perfectly safe to throw a couple paracetamol or acetaminophen or Tylenol when they’re pregnant, and I don’t think that’s the case,” Oz remarked.
Oz added that the recommendation on Tylenol is more “about a problem that we may not know fully the answer to,” adding that “I think the answer is, the best prudent answer, of course take it if a doctor says you need it. But don’t take it on your own without thinking twice about it.”
Earlier this week, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary issued an open letter to physicians and other health care providers saying acetaminophen use during pregnancy may be associated with a higher risk of conditions such as autism and other neurological disorders.
“While an association between acetaminophen and autism has been described in many studies, a causal relationship has not been established,” the letter said. “Acetaminophen is the safest over-the-counter alternative in pregnancy among all analgesics and antipyretics,” Makary also said.
During a news conference about the announcement, President Donald Trump called on pregnant women not to take the pain reliever and at one point advised pregnant women: “Don’t take Tylenol.” He was flanked by top health officials like Oz and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
