Extract below. Full text here: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdx2rk10ep0o
By Fergus Walsh
'The public relies on measured, careful statements which are rooted in robust scientific research when deciding what medicines or vaccines they or their children should take.
'When US president Donald Trump claimed on Monday in the Oval Office that taking Tylenol, known as paracetamol elsewhere, "is no good" and that pregnant women should "fight like hell" to only take it in cases of extreme fever, he delivered conjecture, personal opinion and gut feeling.
'On paracetamol there is recent research - a review of studies - which suggests an association between paracetamol use in pregnancy and autism in children, but no causal link, meaning there is no strong evidence suggesting a risk.
'Other researchers found no connection, but President Trump went much further in his comments, urging women not to take the medicine during pregnancy unless they couldn't "tough it out".
'Health officials in the UK have stressed that paracetamol remains the safest painkiller available to pregnant women, but that it should be used at the lowest dose and for the shortest possible duration.
'Aspirin or ibuprofen is not normally recommended because these drugs can affect the baby's circulation.
'Untreated fever in pregnancy can also be potentially harmful in pregnancy.
'UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: "I trust doctors over President Trump, frankly, on this."
Mel Merritt, head of policy and campaigns at the National Autistic Society said: "This is dangerous, it's anti-science and it's irresponsible.
"President Donald Trump is peddling the worst myths of recent decades. Such dangerous pseudo-science is putting pregnant women and children at risk and devaluing autistic people.
"Let's be clear – painkillers do not cause autism and vaccines do not cause autism." [...]
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org