The Brian Lehrer Show Pain Management in Pregnancy
Sep 26, 2025
Veronica Gillispie-Bell, a board-certified obstetrician and vice chair of the ACOG Clinical Practice Guidelines Committee, talks about pain management during pregnancy. She directly addresses claims about Tylenol's alleged links to autism, emphasizing that studies show association, not causation. Gillispie-Bell advocates for the responsible use of pain medications while highlighting the historical neglect of women's pain. She also discusses the importance of vaccines during pregnancy, urging adherence to ACOG guidelines for maternal and fetal health.
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Association Is Not Causation
- Studies linking acetaminophen to autism show associations, not causation, and have many confounding factors.
- Veronica Gillispie-Bell warns that jumping from association to causation is dangerous and misleading for pregnant women.
IVIG Patient Needed Tylenol
- Rihanna, 32 weeks pregnant, described needing acetaminophen after IVIG to manage potential allergic reactions.
- She called Trump's 'tough it out' remark ignorant and harmful to women with real medical needs.
Tough-It-Out Rhetoric Echoes Bias
- Claims that pregnant women should 'tough it out' echo historical dismissal of women's pain.
- Gillispie-Bell links such statements to stereotypes that unfairly devalue women's experiences.