Guessing this is going to be to do with women taking paracetamol (also known as acetaminophen and Tylenol) while pregnant, a bunch of studies recently came out showing a casual link with autism, but the majority consensus is that it's fine to take paracetamol while pregnant and is actually recommended as a pain reliever, as opioids and NSAIDs are not recommended for use while pregnant as they could harm the fetus. Paracetamol is one of the few pain relievers women can take while pregnant currently, which is quite surprising to me, I always thought it was a blanket ban on pretty much all pain relievers. If paracetamol actually is harmful that would really suck for women given the above, one of their few options for pain relief while pregnant would be removed. Though I have serious doubt on how valid the science is here, this is probably RFK Jr just looking for a quick win. I know it can be bad for your liver in long term use, but better than most NSAIDs.

[–] TrustedFeline@hexbear.net 47 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Good post. They're probably gonna just start shaming pregnant women who take paracetamol for pain. After all, god wants women to suffer during all stages of pregnancy (since Eve ate the apple).

[edit] I watched some of the autism press conference, and said "the only downside" is that pregnant women will need to "tough it out" a little more

One nitpick:

showing a casual link with autism

causal link? Or just a correlation. Probably just a correlation, and I imagine it's a very difficult one to untangle, since pregnant people taking more tylenol than average probably have other factors that could effect the fetus.

[–] Commie_Chameleon@hexbear.net 18 points 4 weeks ago

When I was pregnant I got sick and my doctor had me take Tylenol to keep the fever down since a high fever can be bad for the fetus. Dunno what else a pregnant person could take if they get sick, which you’re more prone to while you’re pregnant I believe.

[–] CthulhusIntern@hexbear.net 15 points 4 weeks ago

Yeah, this sounds like the most likely thing.

[–] gay_king_prince_charles@hexbear.net 9 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Paracetamol is one of those things where if it were discovered today, there would be no chance you could get it OTC. I wonder if it will get rescheduled.

[–] MarmiteLover123@hexbear.net 11 points 3 weeks ago

Yeah that's definitely true. The gap between "effective dose" and "organ damage" is quite small for an OTC medication.

[–] Cysioland@lemmygrad.ml 7 points 3 weeks ago

I hope not, it's the only shit I can take

[–] booty@hexbear.net 9 points 3 weeks ago

I would literally just be lying down and screaming if I wasn't eating tylenol like candy right now, they better not fuck with it lmao

[–] Arahnya@hexbear.net 8 points 3 weeks ago

There remains no casual link to acetaminophen and autism, only an association -- of which studies have also found none.