The Trump administration is preparing to issue a nationwide warning regarding the use of Tylenol during pregnancy, following concerns that the common painkiller could increase the risk of autism in children.
At the same time, federal officials are expected to promote a little-known medication, leucovorin, as a possible treatment option for the disorder.
The new guidance will advise pregnant women to avoid Tylenol—also known as paracetamol or acetaminophen—unless it is necessary to treat a fever.
This recommendation comes after a federal review examining potential causes behind the growing number of autism diagnoses across the United States.
The review is part of a broader effort led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
He has pledged to explore environmental factors, food, pesticides and vaccines as possible contributors to the rise in autism.
Autism diagnoses have increased significantly over the past two decades, from one in 150 children in 2000 to approximately one in 31 children in 2025, according to federal data.
Officials also intend to highlight leucovorin, a drug derived from folic acid, which has been reported to produce notable improvements in children with autism.
Physicians have observed that some children who were previously nonverbal began speaking in full sentences after taking the drug.
At just $2.50 per pill, the treatment represents a fraction of the cost of conventional therapies.
President Trump previewed the announcement on Saturday at an event hosted by the American Cornerstone Institute, the Daily Mail reported.
“I think it’s going to be a very important announcement,” Trump said.
“I think it’s going to be one of the most important things that we will do.”
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is also expected to announce the launch of its autism data science initiative this week.
The program involves 13 research teams that will receive federal grants to investigate the causes and treatments of autism and to validate previous scientific studies.
The NIH’s separate federal review on autism, also directed by Kennedy, will not be released this week.
According to officials, that report remains under in-depth review and will undergo further examination before being made public.
On Sunday, the White House reinforced its commitment to the issue in a statement from spokesman Kush Desai.
“President Trump pledged to address America’s rising rate of autism, and to do so with Gold Standard Science,” Desai said.
“Tomorrow’s announcement will make historic progress on both commitments.”
The Daily Mail highlighted that Leucovorin, sometimes called folinic acid, is already approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in protecting blood cells from the damaging effects of chemotherapy.
While the FDA has not approved leucovorin for autism, doctors can prescribe it “off-label” for other conditions since it has been deemed safe for patient use.
Dr. Richard Frye, a physician in Arizona, has spent years studying leucovorin’s effects on autism patients.
He has described the drug as one of modern medicine’s “best kept secrets” and reported substantial improvements among dozens of children under his care.
In some cases, children developed a wide vocabulary within months of beginning treatment.
Frye believes that the drug’s impact is tied to folate metabolism in the brain.
Research indicates that up to three in four children with autism do not get adequate amounts of folate delivered to the brain, leading to developmental delays in speech and behavior.
Folate occurs naturally in foods such as leafy green vegetables, beans, and lentils, while folic acid supplements are already recommended for pregnant women to help prevent neural tube defects.
Although leucovorin is not a cure, reports suggest it can help improve communication and behavioral outcomes.
