I have been pregnant four times all of which ended with a bouncing baby, ten little fingers and ten little toes. For that reason alone, I am blessed.
Not all pregnancies end happily. There can be early miserable miscarriages or late devastating ones. In a small number of cases a pregnancy might end in stillbirth. At one of the now many scans you are given you could be told that something is not quite right with your little one. We had to wait over the weekend for a second scan on baby John’s heart. It was stressful. In fact baby John must have been one of the most scanned babies by the time he made his early entry to the world in August 2021.
Here he is. Thoroughly scanned, circa 2021:
All of the advice you are given and the scans you are subjected to are a good indication of the stresses to come. You as a mother are now responsible for the care of another human being.
And that’s just the mental and emotional worry. From the first time you find out you are expecting a baby you become much more aware of what you are eating, drinking or medicines you might be taking. I’ll admit I had a few drinks with my first, who turns 16 this October. By the time I was pregnant with my fourth I was a decade older although very fit but I was extremely cautious about what I ate or drank.
This is why I find the news that there are pregnant women in the US taking the drug Tylenol just to stick it to Trump shocking.
Remember when I spoke about the terrifying reaction of young left – wing women to the assassination of Charlie Kirk? I warned you that having these callous women who celebrated the murder of a young man in your life was a bad idea. Well it has come to my attention that their pregnant sisters are taking medications not because they are medically necessary but because Trump told them not to.
President Trump caused controversy this week by saying that taking Tylenol during pregnancy was linked to a “very increased risk” of autism in children. This is how some doctors are handling the President’s intervention, as per the BBC: “Dr Reed and other obstetricians say they plan to continue recommending acetaminophen – the main ingredient in Tylenol – to pregnant women when needed, as they say research does not support the claim the pain and fever reliever is linked to autism.
The widely held view of researchers worldwide is that there is no single cause of autism, a complex condition scientists say is caused by a host of genetic and non-genetic factors. The Autism Science Foundation, a US charity, says that based on existing data there is not enough evidence to support a link between Tylenol and autism. But it says that taking any medication during pregnancy should be approached with caution and medical advice should be sought.”
Exactly. What no doctor would say is, women should absolutely take Tylenol so they can make a political point. The advice is not and would not ever be, if you want to annoy the Orange Man take Tylenol while pregnant even if you don’t need to.
Yet this is exactly what some pregnant mothers are doing, according to the internet. A number of videos have been circulating on X, some of which appear to have originated from TikTok, including one where a woman films herself taking a Tylenol tablet with the caption: “here’s is [sic] me, a PREGNANT woman, taking TYLENOL because I believe in science and not someone who has no medical background.” There are now so many of these videos going around doctors have urged pregnant women to come to their senses. Dr. Nicole Saphier, a Fox News contributor and radiologist, wrote in a post, which accumulated more than 1.5 million views, on X “Don’t weaponize your pregnancy for a political point.”
To the few single young men who might be reading this, those single pringles ready to mingle, this is another thing to look out for on the dating scene. First, does your date think it acceptable to celebrate murder? Secondly, would your date ever consider weaponizing their pregnancy to stick it to the man. I’d lead with those two questions on the first date and you will save yourself a lot of time and heartache.
I find it genuinely baffling that any expectant mother would consider taking medication unnecessarily but then Trump Derangement Syndrome is surely one of the most dangerous illnesses of our time. My own editor has a mild dose, unfortunately. It will make you do bat – shit crazy things.
To state the obvious, I am not giving medical advice but I certainly remember considering very carefully if I should take medicine when I was pregnant. I stressed over paracetamol, I also had terrible hay fever but had to take an antihistamine. The advice on the products is always the same: if you are pregnant consult your doctor or pharmacist before taking this medicine. Does the benefit to the mother outweigh any potential risk to the baby, is the usual balance applied. The idea that left – wing pregnant women would just be popping the pills willy – nilly is appalling. I hope they stop.
When you learn that you are pregnant, it very quickly dawns on you that from now on it is never entirely about you. You have another little person to think of. Expectant mothers hoping to get one over President Trump by taking medication directly against medical advice would do well to remember this.