Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

I didn’t really want to touch on this yesterday. I really hoped the story about President Trump coming out and declaring that pregnant mothers taking paracetamol was the cause of autism would just die a quick death in the news.  But it made an impact - as you may have seen.    Comments like Trump’s are hugely frustrating and unhelpful. They cause concern among expectant mothers about the use of paracetamol. As stated by the NZ College of Midwives yesterday, “high quality scientific evidence does not demonstrate a causal link or association between paracetamol use and autism or other developmental concerns. "Large, high-quality studies —including population data from Sweden involving over two million children— found no increased risk of autism, ADHD, or intellectual disability from paracetamol use during pregnancy.”   You could also ask mothers of autistic children —and the ones I know are scratching their heads— because they didn’t use paracetamol when pregnant.    Please, if you