The Trump administration is preparing to deliver a bombshell health announcement Monday: pregnant women should avoid Tylenol, the country’s most widely used pain reliever, over concerns it could raise the risk of autism in children.

Federal health officials will caution against acetaminophen use during pregnancy except in cases of high fever, marking the first time Washington has formally connected the over-the-counter drug to neurodevelopmental disorders. The White House is also expected to highlight leucovorin — a cancer and anemia medication — as a possible treatment for autism, signaling a broader push to reposition how the government addresses the disorder.

President Donald Trump has been previewing the announcement for days, promising supporters over the weekend that “we found an answer to autism” and calling the coming press conference “one of the most important” of his presidency. The rollout follows weeks of speculation stoked by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has long made autism research a political centerpiece and vowed to use “gold-standard science” to explain America’s rising autism rates.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one in 31 U.S. 8-year-olds were diagnosed with autism as of 2022, a steep increase from previous decades. The administration’s pivot toward Tylenol could upend long-standing medical guidance, ignite fierce debate in Congress, and trigger legal and financial consequences for the pharmaceutical industry.

It remains unclear what research the administration will cite. A Mount Sinai study published last month found that prenatal acetaminophen exposure may increase risks of autism and ADHD, but it stopped short of proving causation. “Even a small increase in risk could have major public health implications,” said researcher Dr. Diddier Prada, cautioning that higher-quality studies were more likely to detect links between Tylenol use and neurodevelopmental disorders.

Still, mainstream medical groups have generally advised that acetaminophen remains the safest option for pain and fever during pregnancy when used at recommended doses — making the administration’s announcement a sharp departure from consensus.

The decision to tie a household painkiller to autism carries significant political risk. Trump is moving to stake out territory on a health issue that has long animated activists but divided experts. Kennedy’s high-profile role adds another layer, intertwining the administration’s public health strategy with a figure who has built his brand on skepticism of pharmaceutical orthodoxy.

The unanswered questions may be as consequential as the announcement itself: how regulators will define “risk,” what studies they will rely on, and whether this move signals the start of an aggressive new federal line on autism research and treatment — or a politically charged gamble that could reshape one of America’s most common medical habits.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)