No it does not. (And, by that, we mean, based on the best available high-quality evidence, there is no scientific support for the claim that acetaminophen causes autism. Ahlqvist et al., JAMA 20241)
Thank you and we hope you have a pleasant day.
If you want a little more, we can continue. There have been some “observational” studies which have shown some mixed results and have major issues (such as recall bias, indication confounding, genetics / family factors). When high quality trials which control for these issues are done, the association disappears. In other words, high quality studies do not show any link between acetaminophen and autism.2 3 4
A very large 2024 JAMA sibling-comparison study of roughly 2.5 million Swedish children found no increased risk of autism (or ADHD or intellectual disability) from the use of prenatal acetaminophen.5
Professional bodies continue to say that acetaminophen is acceptable in pregnancy when used as directed: ACOG affirms it as an important and safe option for fever/pain in pregnancy.6
Global health guidance likewise characterizes the evidence linking prenatal acetaminophen and autism as inconsistent.7
As always, you should consult your own doctor for medical advice.
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38592388/ ↩︎
- https://www.smfm.org/news/smfm-response-to-administration-announcement-on-acetaminophen-use-during-pregnancy-and-autism-#:~:text=To%20be%20clear%2C%20SMFM%20stands,other%20neurobehavioral%20problems%20in%20children. ↩︎
- https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12940-025-01208-0 ↩︎
- Statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics ↩︎
- https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2817406 ↩︎
- https://www.acog.org/clinical-information/physician-faqs/acetaminophen-in-pregnancy ↩︎
- https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/who-says-evidence-inconsistent-link-between-autism-paracetemol-use-pregnancy-2025-09-23/ ↩︎
Last Updated on September 23, 2025
