MAHA is Giving Me a Headache - Pass the Tylenol
MAHA went back to their playbook, called an audible, spread complete misinformation, and released it to the public like they are doing us all a favor when, in fact, they are seemingly doing everything they can to destroy our health.
I’ve recently spoken about MAHA’s guidance to the public regarding raw milk, and in the future, I’ll tackle glyphosate. However, in the meantime, the biggest culprit of misunderstanding and misinformation has hit us in the form of advice on Tylenol. Tylenol is much easier to read and pronounce than certain words, so we’ll use that.
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Specifically, they are targeting Tylenol use during pregnancy, straight from our Secretary of Health and Human Services and our POTUS. They show a sign of unenlightened and dangerous thinking as they are mixing correlation with causation.
Where’s the analysis behind the logic?
Here is an oversimplification of what MAHA and MAGA get wrong. Women who are pregnant are taking Tylenol because they need to, plain and simple. There isn’t much recourse when a fever hits, if pain strikes, if she is stricken with an infection, or even an illness of some kind. The pain NEEDS to be addressed.
This is what went over the heads of our esteemed RFKs. It’s not the drug where there is a link, it’s the causes and symptoms that require medication that cause a potential development issue. Left untreated, any of these symptoms can actually lead to a problem, so advising to leave the woman and child untreated is going to have the unintended consequence of exacerbating the potential for an incident.
How did our lead health man come to give us advice that is, by and large, the exact opposite of what the research shows? I’d like to hear more from the Pro-life crowd on this one please?
From the experts
I’m not a pregnant woman, I’m not a doctor; however, I am an individual who knows that we must question, review, and research everything. We need to take these studies into account to really come to a conclusion. So, let’s look to the actual experts and see what they say.
The Gold Standard Study
One of the most important studies to date was published in JAMA: “Acetaminophen Use During Pregnancy and Children’s Risk of Autism, ADHD, and Intellectual Disability” by Viktor H. Ahlqvist.
Quite a sample size indeed: 2.48 million children included, making it one of the largest studies ever conducted as it relates to this topic. Of these children, roughly 186,000 had exposure to acetaminophen during the mother’s pregnancy.
It doesn’t end there: there was also a sibling control analysis that accounted for genetic and environmental factors.
Their conclusion: Acetaminophen use during pregnancy was NOT associated with children’s risk of autism, ADHD, or intellectual disability in sibling control analysis. This suggests that associations observed in other models may have been attributable to family genetics and environment.
RFK is giving advice counter to this. How did he come to his conclusion? Is he not aware of the study? Is there something larger at play here?
A trusted Authority’s Position
I think I will go with the MHRA (UK’s FDA) vs the MAHA RFK Jr. position - quote below:
“There is no evidence that taking paracetamol during pregnancy causes autism in children. Paracetamol remains the recommended pain relief option for pregnant women when used as directed.”
Did he read the below and think to himself, I am going to give the exact opposite guidance? If he did, again, as I said before, something sinister is going on behind the scenes. If he didn’t know, he’s giving advice in sheer ignorance.
“Untreated pain and fever can pose risks to the unborn baby, so it is important to manage these symptoms with the recommended treatment.”
Paracetamol remains the first-choice pain reliever for pregnant women, used at the lowest dose and for the shortest duration.
Creating a dangerous reality
I am petrified of this advice, because some, based on partisanship, are going to follow it, and these poor women and children are receiving misguided information, which could lead to avoiding true medical concerns and even more, putting the mother and child at increased risk.
Untreated fevers during pregnancy can cause serious developmental issues. Untreated infections can be dangerous for both mother and baby. Untreated pain can cause stress responses that are harmful to fetal development.
Is this even irony at this point - in trying to prevent autism based on questionable (at best) evidence, this advice could actually cause the very neurological developmental problems they claim to be preventing.
How did it come to this
I’ll answer my own question about RFK Jr.’s qualifications with what I believe is an educated guess: he promised Trump to join MAGA in order to secure himself a prominent role in the Cabinet, and now he’s telling you to avoid the medicine cabinet. I simply do not see how he is qualified to advise the public, especially when comprehensive studies like the above exist, yet he gives advice that runs completely counter to what actual medical experts are telling us. He should be removed from office, effective immediately.
We have already reached a consensus.
Let’s make it clear where the scientific community stands, as there is one point tied to the evidence status below that RFK Jr.’s guidance stands on…potential association, a correlation if you will. Additional research is needed, but we are too early to make a change based on the overall science-based position.
Evidence Status: Points to potential association in some studies, but not definitive or causal. Further research is needed, but mixed results lean toward caution about overstating risks.
Health Authority Position: Continue recommending acetaminophen as the safest OTC pain relief for pregnancy. Use the lowest effective dose for the shortest duration.
Expert Concerns: The focus on acetaminophen distracts from autism’s complex nature. Autism most likely results from a combination of genetic and environmental influences. RFK is oversimplifying a complex condition.
Who’s advising the advisor?
When our Secretary of Health and Human Services openly endorses dangerous misinformation like this, we have to ask: Do they really think avoiding Tylenol is good for pregnant women? Have they read the comprehensive studies? Who are they consulting to come to give such guidance? You cannot look at the findings from these major studies and from experts and advise you to change course when you’re not ready to land the information plane.
Bottom Line
When we have the right controls in place to conduct a real study, there is no association between the drug and the neurological condition.
Official health authorities maintain sound recommendations to the public, and the alternative would leave pregnant women to suffer through their pain and expose them to well-documented risks that far outweigh any theoretical concerns from MAHA.
RFK is nothing more than a political appointee with no relevant expertise, yet he is attempting to override medical research and established clinical practice. This isn’t just bad policy; this is dangerous misinformation that will harm real people.
The women, unborn children, and families of America deserve much more than they got. I can hope that this advice is largely ignored; however, I have a sneaky suspicion this is going to be a partisan issue. I also hope that we have a new Secretary in place before enough time passes to cause serious, long-term damage, as the risk and danger would surely compound year by year.
One thing Trump can do is correct his mistake and search and replace with someone who knows what they are talking about.
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