Suzanne Crowe: Trump linking paracetamol with autism is misinformation at its most horrible
Painkillers containing paracetamol are a safe medication for the majority. Picture: Michael Conroy/AP
If I had a euro for every time a distraught mother asked me if she had done something while pregnant to cause their baby’s health problem, I’d be beyond wealthy.
It’s a heartbreaking question that is asked, with so much pain behind it.
Pregnant women and mothers already beat themselves up endlessly about how their children turn out; this is what makes the latest damaging comment from Donald Trump, connecting paracetamol during pregnancy to autism, so reprehensible.
Trump is engaging in the rhetoric of blaming mothers of children who have significant behavioural issues.
Each mother in this situation is likely struggling to cope with the challenges of daily living, while petitioning for assessment, childcare, schooling, and community healthcare for their child.
They do not need to hear that taking a safe, over-the-counter medication while pregnant caused the difficulties that their child and family now face. Especially when this comment has no grounding in fact.
This is misinformation at its most horrible.
It is possible that this comment from Trump originated in information shared with him from a major study published last year in the , a prestigious publication with a large reach worldwide.
This study examined the records of almost 2.5m children born in Sweden between 1995 and 2019.
It was a project that looked backwards over health and educational records, screening for many possible connections with autism.
Initially, the authors found that there was a tiny increase in risk of autism and ADHD associated with paracetamol use during pregnancy.
The research team then matched the cases of autism with an apparent connection to paracetamol, with their siblings.
This was done to see if children sharing the same genetics and home environment had a different incidence in autism in a pregnancy where paracetamol had been taken.
The researchers found no increased risk of autism, ADHD, or intellectual disability associated with paracetamol use.
We still don’t know all the causes of autism, but several genetic and non-genetic factors seem to be important.
These include the mother’s health, the age of both parents, pregnancy complications including pre-eclampsia, family genetics, socioeconomic status, and societal characteristics.
It is also vital to consider the reason why the mother may have been taking paracetamol, as some infections can cause problems for a growing and developing baby.
One thing is sure: There is no simple, sole cause of autism.
Pseudo-scientific statements spread like wildfire because they are clear and absolutist. They leave no room for critical analysis. They often whip up fear at the same time, in the knowledge that when people are frightened, they seek security.
This contrasts with the scientific community which is trained to strip out subjectivity and base all research conclusions in uncertainty; every reputable study will conclude that further research is needed to clarify questions.
Unfortunately, the byproduct of this academic reportage, that is couched in caveats, is that fearful parents continue to beg for certainty.
And those who peddle misinformation are happy to pretend to serve that need.
There is a risk that facile, incorrect statements on maternal and child health will further erode public trust in healthcare.
Bombarded with conflicting viewpoints, a new mother may turn her back on measures which have been proven to improve the health of her child.
Measures such as discussing medications with their midwife or doctor, booking early for antenatal care, taking folic acid, avoiding alcohol, and receiving vaccines against whooping cough and flu at the end of their pregnancy.
In combination with following the schedule of childhood immunisations, these simple interventions have saved countless lives.
The peril of damaging trust between pregnant women and their healthcare providers has a potential ripple effect so catastrophic that the misinformation spread by Trump and Robert F Kennedy must be countered at every opportunity.
It is enraging to witness ‘blaming the mother’ tropes being advanced in the absence of an easy answer on why autism develops.
This shaming of mothers and their actions before, during, or after childbirth is as old as time, and is profoundly misogynistic.
It is a perspective which simply cannot be allowed to creep back into our discourse on healthcare.
Ordinary conditions such as fever and pain require assessment and pain relief — this is true for mothers, as it is for every person.
Paracetamol is a safe medication for the majority.
Yes, there are gaps in our scientific understanding of how autism and other childhood behavioural issues develop, and this is frustrating.
But we cannot stand back as pseudoscience and emotional manipulation expand into these gaps.
The health of babies and their mothers is far too important to see decades of progress in infant, child, and maternal mortality fall under the direct attack of misinformation.
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