Dr. Mehmet Oz on Tuesday softened President Trump’s warnings that pregnant women should not take Tylenol due to a largely unproven link to autism.
In an interview with TMZ, Oz, who leads the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said pregnant women should consult with a physician and use the medication if they have a high fever.
“If you have a high fever … you ought to be talking to a doctor anyway,” Oz said. “The doctor’s almost certainly going to prescribe you something. Tylenol might be one of the things they give.”
Oz’s message was a far cry from Trump’s news conference on Monday, where he said “don’t take Tylenol” nearly a dozen times.
Trump repeatedly told women to “tough it out” rather than take Tylenol for fever or pain during pregnancy.
“Taking Tylenol is not good,” Trump said, and urged women to “fight like hell” against taking it.
In his interview, Oz nodded to the fact Tylenol has been one of the only over-the-counter pain medications for pregnant women that is considered safe.
Other options, like ibuprofen or aspirin, can increase risks of birth defects.
“Pregnant women know lots of the typical things you would take for aches and pains and fevers are not a permissible product to be used during pregnancy. Acetaminophen is probably your best option, but take it when you really need it,” Oz said.
Oz’s tempered comments echoed what the Food and Drug Administration said in its note to physicians on the use of acetaminophen by pregnant women, as well as its public statement about changing the label on acetaminophen.
“The precautionary principle may lead many to avoid using acetaminophen during pregnancy, especially since most low-grade fevers don’t require treatment. It remains reasonable, however, for pregnant women to use acetaminophen in certain scenarios,” FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said in a statement.
The agency also noted that despite the dire warnings from the Oval Office on Monday linking acetaminophen use to autism, “a causal relationship has not been established and there are contrary studies in the scientific literature.”
