{"id":80121,"date":"2025-09-24T08:45:31","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T12:45:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/?p=80121"},"modified":"2025-09-24T16:26:24","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T20:26:24","slug":"are-you-pregnant-and-in-pain-trump-says-tough-it-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/are-you-pregnant-and-in-pain-trump-says-tough-it-out\/","title":{"rendered":"Are You Pregnant And In Pain? Trump Says \u2018Tough It Out\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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President Donald Trump pushed the idea that women in pain should simply endure it. It’s not a new idea – but it’s still a harmful one, this op-ed notes. (Credit: YouTube<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

“We’ve got a lot of stupid people in this country running things.” So noted President Donald Trump<\/a>, without a hint of irony, during a press conference held Monday in the Oval Office. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While flanked by Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.<\/a> and Dr. Mehmet Oz, a television personality turned Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Trump spoke of an alleged link between acetaminophen, the pain relief<\/a> drug most commonly sold as Tylenol, and rising rates of autism, a neurodevelopmental disorder with no single known cause<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists was quick to counter this claim. \u201cIn more than two decades of research on the use of acetaminophen in pregnancy, not a single reputable study has successfully concluded that the use of acetaminophen in any trimester of pregnancy causes neurodevelopmental disorders in children,\u201d Steven J. Fleischman, president of the body, said in a statement<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added: \u201cIn fact, the two highest-quality studies on this subject \u2026 found no significant associations between use of acetaminophen during pregnancy and children\u2019s risk of autism, ADHD or intellectual disability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet a cabal of old men, led by Trump, stood before the nation and proclaimed that pregnant people should not take acetaminophen for pain or fever relief anyway, asserting instead that they should simply \u201ctough it out<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Related<\/h4>\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n \n \"Lupita\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n
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\n \n Lupita Nyong\u2019o on Uterine Fibroids: No One Should Feel ‘Dismissed, Confused or Alone’\u00a0\n <\/a>\n <\/h3>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n

Officials in his administration have repeatedly wrung their hands over supposed rising rates of autism \u2013 though experts cite<\/a> increased screenings and a newer, broadened definition of autism as reasons for the uptick in reported cases. The peddling of unfounded pseudoscience around causes and treatments for autism, the stigmatizing of it as a fate worse than maternal suffering and childhood death \u2013 it\u2019s all reprehensible nonsense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So is telling women that they must simply deal with their pain \u2013 but that part is nothing new. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, there is a long, documented history of medical professionals dismissing and ignoring women\u2019s suffering, in ways men\u2019s ailments are not. Studies show that our pain<\/a> is taken less seriously by doctors, nurses and other practitioners (if not outright ignored), repeatedly misdiagnosed as emotional in nature or attributed to weight gain, and treated less thoroughly and expeditiously than the ailments reported by male patients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But unlike Trump\u2019s dubious claims<\/a> about Tylenol\u2019s neurological effects, the suffering is<\/em> proven \u2013 especially during pregnancy. Pregnant people endure a wide range of discomforts, ailments and complications<\/a>, from nausea and vomiting earlier on (or, if you\u2019re like me, throughout), to joint pain and heartburn in later months, as the fetus occupies more space in the body. That\u2019s just the tip of the iceberg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Casting those concerns aside \u2013 dismissing them as frivolous matters to simply be endured \u2013 is not just offensive; It\u2019s also risky. Untreated pregnancy pain can elevate blood pressure, which can negatively impact fetal growth<\/a>. The same goes for unchecked fevers<\/a>. And, pregnancy-related difficulties have been linked to postpartum depression<\/a> in new moms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet Trump stood before members of the press and told pregnant people throughout the U.S. to \u201cfight like hell\u201d against taking Tylenol, as if the discomfort is noble and the dangers of doing so don\u2019t exist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s galling on its own \u2013 but becomes even more so when considered alongside the fact that his administration is actively trying to raise the U.S. birth rate, which continues to plummet<\/a>. Earlier this year, Trump administration officials floated everything from medals of achievement for mothers with six or more children, to $5,000 baby bonuses<\/a>, all to incentivize gestation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In light of Trump\u2019s comments this week, those offerings take on an almost Orwellian quality \u2013 the idea that pregnant people should shut up and suffer for the sake of growing the nation\u2019s population, before receiving their pittance and a tacky award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though, one supposes this is what happens when you have \u201ca lot of stupid people in this country running things.” ◼️<\/p>\n\n\n

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Related<\/h4>\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n \n \"Trump\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n
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\n \n Worried Over Women’s Disinterest in Motherhood? Make It Something We\u2019d Want\n <\/a>\n <\/h3>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The president baselessly claimed Tylenol causes autism, and that pregnant people shouldn\u2019t take it. It\u2019s dangerous advice \u2013 and part of a legacy of women\u2019s suffering being dismissed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":80122,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"President Donald Trump pushed the idea that women in pain should simply endure it. 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