Does Tylenol cause ADHD, autism, and other neurodevelopmental disorders?

On September 22, 2025, the Trump administration made an announcement claiming that using Tylenol while pregnant may cause autism and ADHD. The announcement follows a study published in August 2025 that linked acetaminophen (Tylenol) use in pregnancy to neurodevelopmental disorders in children. Several recent studies have taken a closer look at the data and have found no connection. 

It’s easy to feel alarmed about these types of reports and studies. You may wonder if the claims are true. If your child is neurodivergent, you may feel like you did something to cause their diagnosis. It’s normal to have these types of concerns when headlines like these dominate your newsfeeds. 

Here at Understood, our goal is to help you make sense of the news and what it means for your family. Our research team took a look at the studies linking acetaminophen use in pregnancy and neurodevelopmental disorders. Here’s what you need to know. 

More research has come out on this topic since the Trump administration’s claims. The findings of these studies suggest that taking acetaminophen during pregnancy does not cause autism or ADHD. 

One study, published in September 2026 in the journal Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology,opens in a new tab looked at data from over 3 million people. The study, called an umbrella review, analyzed seven earlier reviews that looked at paracetamol (the name for acetaminophen internationally) use during pregnancy and rates of autism and ADHD.

At first, the researchers found a small link between the medication and autism and ADHD. So the researchers took a closer look. They used an industry-standard checklist to see how well the research was done. When they focused only on the higher-quality reviews, the link nearly disappeared.

“Our findings show that the apparent association between prenatal paracetamol exposure and autism or ADHD weakens as methodological quality improves, challenging the interpretation of a causal link and supporting evidence-based decisions during pregnancy,” said the study’s first author Hoda Tayebi Hillali, DDS, MSc,opens in a new tab of the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

Researchers in Hong Kong looked at more than 700,000 mother-child pairs as part of a study published in June 2026 in JAMA Internal Medicineopens in a new tab. They found that prenatal exposure to acetaminophen was not associated with an increased risk of autism or ADHD. 

In another 2026 study published in The Lancet,opens in a new tab researchers looked at 43 of the best-quality studies on whether using acetaminophen during pregnancy increases the risk of babies developing autism, ADHD, or intellectual disabilities. 

The study accounted for many factors that might skew the results. Some of the strongest data came from studies that compared siblings. Researchers looked at thousands of families in which the mother took acetaminophen during one pregnancy and not the other.

Genetics, environment, and family factors are often very similar between siblings. For example: 

• Genetics: They may share a similarity in how prone they are to infection. 

• Environment: They live in the same household and are exposed to the same toxins, such as lead.

• Family situation: They live with the same family stressors.

If siblings have different outcomes, it’s easier to figure out the cause when you know which factors the kids share. And which ones they don’t share, like their mother taking acetaminophen when pregnant with one of them but not the other. 

After analyzing the data, the researchers found no link between acetaminophen use in pregnancy and greater risk of autism, ADHD, or intellectual disabilities in children. This study offers the strongest and clearest results of the research that has been published so far. 

Research published in August 2025opens in a new tab looked at 46 research studies conducted over the span of decades that examined whether Tylenol use during pregnancy is linked to ADHD, autism, and other neurodevelopmental disorders. Overall, the results were mixed. About 67.5 percent found that using Tylenol may make it more likely that your child will develop ADHD. The remaining studies found either no connection between Tylenol and neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) or a reduced chance that your child will have ADHD. 

The authors of the August 2025 study concluded that the studies finding a link between Tylenol use in pregnancy and neurodevelopmental disorders were more valuable than the other studies. But without ADHD experts or health professionals like ob-gyns on their research team, the researchers overlooked information that would’ve made those studies far less valuable.

When a group of health professionals,opens in a new tab including ob-gyns and pharmacists, examined many of these same studies, they pointed out quite a lot of flaws. For example, one of the studies the researchers considered more influential used the level of acetaminophen in blood samples that had sat for 20 years as one of their data sources. Just like food that sits on the shelf, blood samples can also become spoiled or unusable over time. 

The group of ob-gyns and pharmacists concluded that many of the studies that linked Tylenol use to developing a neurodevelopmental disorder missed important information. For example, many of the studies didn’t ask or consider if either parent had ADHD themselves. Even if mothers were asked this question, to answer it correctly, they’d have to know they have ADHD. But since women are often diagnosed later in life — or not at all — many don’t know they have the disorder.

This isn’t the only study that looked at Tylenol use and ADHD risk. Another study found that dads who use Tylenolopens in a new tab up to six months before conception have a greater risk of having a child with ADHD. But these connections don’t mean that Tylenol caused a neurodevelopmental disorder. There can be other factors at play — like knowing whether these parents are neurodivergent themselves or have a family history of neurodevelopmental disorders. It can be hard to fully understand these factors if you don’t have the full picture.

Additionally, the FDA has not found clear evidenceopens in a new tab that using acetaminophen during pregnancy causes negative pregnancy, birth, neurobehavioral, or developmental outcomes. 

Following the September 2025 announcement by the Trump administration, multiple professional associations, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), released statements reaffirming Tylenol’s safety.

“In more than two decades of research on the use of acetaminophen in pregnancy, not a single reputable study has successfully concluded that the use of acetaminophen in any trimester of pregnancy causes neurodevelopmental disorders in children,” Steven J. Fleischman, MD, MBA, FACOG, president of ACOG, said in a statementopens in a new tab. “In fact, the two highest-quality studies on this subject — one of which was published in JAMAopens in a new tab last year — found no significant associations between use of acetaminophen during pregnancy and children’s risk of autism, ADHD, or intellectual disability.”

Not taking Tylenol when it’s prescribed for fever or illness during pregnancy can be bad. The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicineopens in a new tab states that not taking acetaminophen when it’s prescribed during pregnancy is harmful to both the mother and baby. The risks include a higher likelihood of miscarriage, birth defects, and premature birth. 

Neurodivergence is an umbrella term that covers a wide range of conditions and experiences. You can be neurodivergent if you have ADHD, autism, a learning disability like dyslexia or dyscalculia, or a mental health condition such as obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Because there are so many different types of neurodivergence, there isn’t a “one size fits all” explanation. 

But what about neurodevelopmental disorders like autism and ADHD? Research consistently shows that genetic variability is responsible for as much as 60 to 90 percent of ADHD development. Your environment plays a role, too. Researchers believe that the interaction between the environment and geneticsopens in a new tab is responsible for the remaining percentage.

If you or your child are neurodivergent, it’s likely that someone else in your family carries genes related to neurodivergence. Without knowing your family’s medical history, it could look like your mother’s Tylenol use was a factor when really, it’s the genes that you all share.

That said, it’s normal and understandable to feel overwhelmed or even anxious during pregnancy. If you’re concerned, or have more questions, talk to your health care provider.