September 23, 2025 • 5 mins
Dr Nick Coatsworth joins Jonesy & Amanda to discuss Donald Trump's claim that pregnant women should stay away from Tylenol due to possible autism links.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
And Amanda jam Nation.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Well, yesterday, in quite a startling press conference, Donald Trump said.
Speaker 3 (00:07):
This effective immediately. The FDA will be notifying physicians at
the use of I said, well, let's see how we
say that. I said a menifen acetamenefen said okay, which
is basically commonly known as tailanol during pregnancy can be
(00:27):
associated with a very increased risk of autism.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Tailanol is our equivalent of paracetamol, and yesterday Australia's Therapeutic
Goods Administration said paracetamol remains pregnancy Category A in Australia,
meaning it's considered safe for use in pregnancy. This was
a very dangerous press conference yesterday. To find out what's
the truth behind all of this, were joined by one
of Australia's leading health experts, doctor Nick Coatesworth.
Speaker 4 (00:55):
Good morning, doctor.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Nick, Hi, Amanda, Hi, jp Hi doctor Nick.
Speaker 4 (00:59):
How did you respond seeing that yesterday?
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Ah? Look, it's so difficult with Trump. I mean, you
want to give him the benefit of the doubt, and
then every time he just throws himselfself on a grenade,
really and throws the rest of us on a grenade
as well. I mean, what he's alluding to is a
series of studies that showed that there was a correlation
so with panadol use and kids who ended up having
(01:28):
neurodiverse disorders in only a few studies, and now they
were studies from reputable universities. But you know, this is
just a link. It doesn't it doesn't prove cause and effect.
And we have to remember that whilst there are these
few studies that did show a link, there are many
many more studies that didn't. Now, Trump, in his usual
(01:50):
way of not being able to see any shades of gray,
comes out and says there is a very increased risk
of autism if you use parasnamol during pregnancy. Didn't he
starymble over a set of minus And it's not an
easy word to say. I have to say, but look,
there's not We don't have the evidence for that, and
but we do need to study it. I mean, that's
(02:11):
the problem with Trump. There's kernels of truth in everything
that he says, and it is something that needs ongoing study.
So if you're a pregnant lady at the moment, say
you've picked up a bit of a coal and you're
running a high fever, is.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
It better to take paracetamol or let the fever run
its course.
Speaker 4 (02:25):
Which is what he said. He said women just tough
it out.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
Yeah, I mean, come on, isn't that just classic blokes
telling a pregnant woman what to do. Just go and
just go and tough it out. No, no, no, I
don't think there's any difference in the advice earlier in
the week to today to tomorrow. I think, you know,
if you feel like you need a pain relief or
you've got a fever that you want to bring down
with medication, the then paracetamol is your best choice, and
(02:52):
it continues to be the best choice.
Speaker 4 (02:54):
And it's dangerous, isn't it for women to not take anything?
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Well, I think if you sit there with pain, or
you sit there with fever for several days in a row,
then you should take something for it. And the other
thing that you know, again stripping back all the you know,
the exaggeration and the falsehoods. If you're a woman who
is needing to take panidole fairly consistently during pregnancy, then
(03:19):
there is another issue at play that you need to
engage your obstetrician or your midwife or your gp with.
So of course you shouldn't sit there with pain or
persistent fever and just try and manage it yourself. But
that's a different that's a different question. Trump's going out
there and saying tough it out, don't take panidole, and
I think in Australia we're clearly saying no, don't do that.
(03:40):
Paodole remains a category a drug, and it's a medication, guys,
that's been studied for decades. I've got a close colleague
who did her PhD looking for a link between parasnamol
and asthma, for example. When you have large exposures of
medications to pregnant women, you have to study them. So
(04:02):
on that level, that's probably the only thing that Trump
got right yesterday.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
It's interesting that he's speaking about this vast increase in autism.
What I've heard other experts say is has been a
vast increase in the diagnosis of autism, and the net
is now much wider. People with Aspergers are put in
that same category as people who do have severe intellectual disabilities.
It's a big, wide net and a whole lot of genetics,
(04:26):
a whole lot of other things come into play when
you're looking at the causality, and no one really knows
what causes autism. You can't just say this is a
major factor.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
No, you can't. And I think that that's a really
important thing when you're looking at that word causality, because
all the different studies have been done with different populations
of kids with different criteria. So some you're including people
with severe autism, some you're bringing in the mild, some
you're bringing in the moderate. So you're just not comparing
(04:55):
like for like with the studies. It makes them very,
very different, difficult to do. If we were going to
see what we call a signal, as in, there's you know,
there's a hint here that we need to go further
and we should make some sort of statement. I think
we would have seen it by now. And I've looked
at the studies that Trump was referring to again, those
studies done the Boston Birth Cohort. Their studies don't have Harvard.
(05:17):
Those studies do exist, but what they don't do is
prove that there's a causal link. They do suggest that
we need to do more study.
Speaker 4 (05:25):
Take to and call doctor Nick in the morning. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
That's the one, jon Zy Bill. Either doctor Nick Coachworth.
Speaker 4 (05:33):
Thank for your thank you for your levity, thank you
for joining us.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Thanks guys, thank you,
And Amanda jam Nation.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Well, yesterday, in quite a startling press conference, Donald Trump said.
Speaker 3 (00:07):
This effective immediately. The FDA will be notifying physicians at
the use of I said, well, let's see how we
say that. I said a menifen acetamenefen said okay, which
is basically commonly known as tailanol during pregnancy can be
(00:27):
associated with a very increased risk of autism.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Tailanol is our equivalent of paracetamol, and yesterday Australia's Therapeutic
Goods Administration said paracetamol remains pregnancy Category A in Australia,
meaning it's considered safe for use in pregnancy. This was
a very dangerous press conference yesterday. To find out what's
the truth behind all of this, were joined by one
of Australia's leading health experts, doctor Nick Coatesworth.
Speaker 4 (00:55):
Good morning, doctor.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Nick, Hi, Amanda, Hi, jp Hi doctor Nick.
Speaker 4 (00:59):
How did you respond seeing that yesterday?
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Ah? Look, it's so difficult with Trump. I mean, you
want to give him the benefit of the doubt, and
then every time he just throws himselfself on a grenade,
really and throws the rest of us on a grenade
as well. I mean, what he's alluding to is a
series of studies that showed that there was a correlation
so with panadol use and kids who ended up having
(01:28):
neurodiverse disorders in only a few studies, and now they
were studies from reputable universities. But you know, this is
just a link. It doesn't it doesn't prove cause and effect.
And we have to remember that whilst there are these
few studies that did show a link, there are many
many more studies that didn't. Now, Trump, in his usual
(01:50):
way of not being able to see any shades of gray,
comes out and says there is a very increased risk
of autism if you use parasnamol during pregnancy. Didn't he
starymble over a set of minus And it's not an
easy word to say. I have to say, but look,
there's not We don't have the evidence for that, and
but we do need to study it. I mean, that's
(02:11):
the problem with Trump. There's kernels of truth in everything
that he says, and it is something that needs ongoing study.
So if you're a pregnant lady at the moment, say
you've picked up a bit of a coal and you're
running a high fever, is.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
It better to take paracetamol or let the fever run
its course.
Speaker 4 (02:25):
Which is what he said. He said women just tough
it out.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
Yeah, I mean, come on, isn't that just classic blokes
telling a pregnant woman what to do. Just go and
just go and tough it out. No, no, no, I
don't think there's any difference in the advice earlier in
the week to today to tomorrow. I think, you know,
if you feel like you need a pain relief or
you've got a fever that you want to bring down
with medication, the then paracetamol is your best choice, and
(02:52):
it continues to be the best choice.
Speaker 4 (02:54):
And it's dangerous, isn't it for women to not take anything?
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Well, I think if you sit there with pain, or
you sit there with fever for several days in a row,
then you should take something for it. And the other
thing that you know, again stripping back all the you know,
the exaggeration and the falsehoods. If you're a woman who
is needing to take panidole fairly consistently during pregnancy, then
(03:19):
there is another issue at play that you need to
engage your obstetrician or your midwife or your gp with.
So of course you shouldn't sit there with pain or
persistent fever and just try and manage it yourself. But
that's a different that's a different question. Trump's going out
there and saying tough it out, don't take panidole, and
I think in Australia we're clearly saying no, don't do that.
(03:40):
Paodole remains a category a drug, and it's a medication, guys,
that's been studied for decades. I've got a close colleague
who did her PhD looking for a link between parasnamol
and asthma, for example. When you have large exposures of
medications to pregnant women, you have to study them. So
(04:02):
on that level, that's probably the only thing that Trump
got right yesterday.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
It's interesting that he's speaking about this vast increase in autism.
What I've heard other experts say is has been a
vast increase in the diagnosis of autism, and the net
is now much wider. People with Aspergers are put in
that same category as people who do have severe intellectual disabilities.
It's a big, wide net and a whole lot of genetics,
(04:26):
a whole lot of other things come into play when
you're looking at the causality, and no one really knows
what causes autism. You can't just say this is a
major factor.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
No, you can't. And I think that that's a really
important thing when you're looking at that word causality, because
all the different studies have been done with different populations
of kids with different criteria. So some you're including people
with severe autism, some you're bringing in the mild, some
you're bringing in the moderate. So you're just not comparing
(04:55):
like for like with the studies. It makes them very,
very different, difficult to do. If we were going to
see what we call a signal, as in, there's you know,
there's a hint here that we need to go further
and we should make some sort of statement. I think
we would have seen it by now. And I've looked
at the studies that Trump was referring to again, those
studies done the Boston Birth Cohort. Their studies don't have Harvard.
(05:17):
Those studies do exist, but what they don't do is
prove that there's a causal link. They do suggest that
we need to do more study.
Speaker 4 (05:25):
Take to and call doctor Nick in the morning. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
That's the one, jon Zy Bill. Either doctor Nick Coachworth.
Speaker 4 (05:33):
Thank for your thank you for your levity, thank you
for joining us.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Thanks guys, thank you,
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