"The president of the United States recently claimed that the use of acetaminophen, commonly known by the brand name Tylenol, during pregnancy and early childhood could be linked to autism in kids. But these claims aren't supported by the scientific evidence, and they highlight a much bigger problem: we know shockingly little about medication safety during pregnancy. For decades pregnant people have been excluded from most clinical trials, leaving doctors and patients to make decisions with incomplete information."
"For decades pregnant people have been excluded from most clinical trials, leaving doctors and patients to make decisions with incomplete information. As many as 80 to 90 percent of people take prescription medication during pregnancy, yet fewer than 1 percent of clinical trials include them, according to a recent study. The result is a health-care system that protects pregnant people from research rather than through it."
Recent presidential claims suggested prenatal acetaminophen use could be linked to autism, but high-quality evidence does not support that connection. Pregnant people have been excluded from most clinical trials for decades, producing substantial gaps in medication-safety data. Approximately 80–90 percent of pregnant people take prescription medications, while fewer than 1 percent of clinical trials include them. The exclusion results in clinicians and patients making treatment decisions with incomplete information. The current approach protects pregnant people from research rather than protecting them through research, indicating an urgent need to include pregnant populations in clinical studies.
Read at www.scientificamerican.com
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