Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles urges women to listen to doctors after Donald Trump’s paracetamol claim

Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles has urged pregnant women not to listen to Donald Trump’s untested claims they should not be taking paracetamol because it causes autism, urging women to instead go to their doctor if they’re concerned. While the US President said expectant mothers should “limit Tylenol” (sold in Australia as paracetamol), “unless medically necessary” and in situations where “you can’t tough it out”, Australian medical bodies like the Australian Medical Association (AMA) and Consumer Healthcare Products Australia (CHPA) have discredited the claims. Mr Trump’s language was significantly more aggressive than what had been recommended by the US’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The agency said that the “choice still belongs with parents” and while some studies have noted “an association … a causal relationship has not been established and there are contrary studies in the scientific literature”. Responding to questions about Mr Trump’s comments, Mr Marles said he was not going to “give medical advice in a press conference such as this,” but urged women to consult their doctor. “The Therapeutic Goods Administration in Australia works very closely with the Food and Drug Administration in the United States,” he said. “Any advice or determinations which are coming out of the USFDA, we will obviously look at very carefully. “But … any woman who has any query about what drugs they should be taking during their pregnancy, that is a matter that they should take up with their doctor.” In Australia, the Therapeutic Goods Administration also classifies the pain and fever relief medication as a Pregnancy Category A medicine, with the CHPA stating current scientific evidence “does not show a casual link between paracetamol use and adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes, including autism”. AMA president Danielle McMullen made similar points and said it was “really important that we think about that science and critically analyse it before causing fear in families”. “There’s certainly no study that has shown that paracetamol causes autism,” she said. “There are a range of studies, some which show an association, which doesn’t mean cause, and some which don’t show that same association.” At the same press conference, Mr Trump also urged parents to not spread out the vaccine schedule for children, including delaying the hepatitis B shot until they’re 12 years old. “They pump so much stuff into those beautiful little babies, it’s a disgrace … it looks like they’re pumping it into a horse,” he told reporters. However he conceded the comments weren’t based on FDA recommendations but on his opinion and “what I feel”. Health Minister Mark Butler cautioned pregnant women against “taking action in response” to Mr Trump’s comments “without taking some medical advice first”. He said the TGA worked “very closely” with the Food and Drug Administration and said he wanted to “make sure that we have advice for pregnant women in particular, very quickly”. “In the meantime, though I just urge any pregnant women who are concerned about this report to seek some medical advice,” he said. “Paracetamol is not just a pain killing medication, it’s obviously an important treatment for fever which can also be dangerous as well if untreated while you’re pregnant.”