President Donald Trump lambasted a top medical organization on Monday over its criticism of new Trump administration recommendations against taking Tylenol during pregnancy due to an associated risk of the child developing autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, or other neurodevelopmental disorders.

Trump dismissed the group, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, as the “establishment.” He said that they “are funded by lots of different groups.”

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“They’re fighting for something that, in my opinion, they shouldn’t be fighting for,” Trump said during a press conference during which he and several members of his Cabinet, including Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., that the Food and Drug Administration will be changing warning labels for acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, to say that it should be avoided during pregnancy. 

“But here’s the thing, there’s no downside to doing it, other than a mother will have to, as I say, tough it out a little bit,” Trump said. “There’s no downside to doing this. It’s not like, Oh, if you do this, you’re going to die. There’s no downside.”

Dr. Steven Fleischman, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, had released a press statement in the middle of the White House event on Monday, saying that the announcement about acetaminophen “dangerously simplifies the many and complex causes of neurologic challenges in children.”

“Suggestions that acetaminophen use in pregnancy causes autism are not only highly concerning to clinicians but also irresponsible when considering the harmful and confusing message they send to pregnant patients, including those who may need to rely on this beneficial medicine during pregnancy,” Fleischman said.  

At several points during the press conference, Trump warned against taking Tylenol in stark terms. 

“Don’t take Tylenol. Don’t take it,” Trump said, referring to pregnant women. “If you just can’t, I mean,  fight like hell not to take it. There may be a point where you have to, and that you’ll you have to work out with yourself.”

The announcement on the connection between acetaminophen and autism comes as Kennedy promised this spring to produce a sweeping report outlining the causes of the rise in autism diagnoses since the 1990s.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in April that 1 in 31 eight-year-olds across the country has an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis, up from roughly 1 in 150 in 2000. Trump, at the start of the press conference, said that 18 years ago, the number of autism diagnoses was one in 20,000, which is inaccurate. 

Reporters during the event at the White House on Monday asked Trump and Kennedy if the rise in autism diagnoses is attributable to changes in diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder in the diagnostic manual, the DSM-5 

Kennedy dismissed those as a “canard that has been promoted by the industry for many years.”

“If it were better in recognition or diagnosis, you’d see it in 70-year-old men. I’ve never seen this happening in people my age,” said Kennedy.

Acetaminophen has for decades been viewed as one of the safest pain relievers for fever, headache, and joint or muscle pain during pregnancy. Other pain-relieving medications, such as aspirin and ibuprofen, have known links to miscarriage and severe birth defects.

Although acetaminophen has been used for pain relief for more than 150 years, it’s not entirely clear how the drug works in the body to reduce pain. 

Acetaminophen was discovered by accident and originally derived from coal tar, according to Tufts University Medicine. It was first used as a painkiller and fever reducer in 1893, but it only became widely popular in the 1950s as an alternative to aspirin. 

ACOG’s president argued in his retort to the Trump administration’s messaging that maternal fever and headaches that are treated with acetaminophen are all early signs of preeclampsia, which can result in serious complications for both mother and child.  

“The conditions people use acetaminophen to treat during pregnancy are far more dangerous than any theoretical risks and can create severe morbidity and mortality for the pregnant person and the fetus,” Fleischman said.

Dr. Dorthy Fink, HHS Deputy Assistant Secretary for Women’s Health, said at the event that the Trump administration was sharing updated guidance on acetaminophen use during pregnancy with the nation’s doctors.

“All too often, it’s easy to think that medicines we buy without a prescription pose little to no risk for the mom or the baby, as you heard today, pregnant women who need high fever or pain reduction during pregnancy should take the lowest effective dose of acetaminophen for the shortest possible duration,” said Fink.

FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary sent a letter to clinicians on Monday following the press conference, instructing them to “consider minimizing the use of acetaminophen during pregnancy for routine low-grade fevers.” 

TRUMP TAKES AIM AT CHILDHOOD VACCINES IN PRESS EVENT ON TYLENOL AND AUTISM

“This consideration should also be balanced with the fact that acetaminophen is the safest over-the-counter alternative in pregnancy among all analgesics and antipyretics; aspirin and ibuprofen have well-documented adverse impacts on the fetus,” Makary wrote.