US President Donald Trump and the surgeon general claim that taking paracetamol during pregnancy increases the risk of having a child with autism. But researchers question this, DW reports.

"Available evidence has found no link between the use of paracetamol during pregnancy and autism," the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said in a statement.

There will be no changes to the EMA's current recommendations on taking paracetamol. Paracetamol can be taken during pregnancy, but it is recommended to do so in the lowest possible dose, for the shortest possible period, and not on a permanent basis, it added.

From a scientific point of view, it is unfounded to link the development of autism to the drug's only active ingredient.

Detailed studies have not shown a causal relationship, only a minimal increase in risk, says Christine Freitag, director of the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy at the University Hospital Frankfurt.

Taking paracetamol during pregnancy increases the risk of autism in a child. The UK National Autistic Society (NAS) called this claim self-promotion using fake news.

They are shocked by how heartless and unscientific Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are talking about people with autism, said Tim Nicholls, Assistant Director of Policy, Research & Strategy  at the NAS. Maybe it would be better if they directed their enormous financial resources to improving the lives of people with autism and their families and raising public awareness about autism, he added.