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Older fathers, extreme air pollution, antidepressants and untreated gestational diabetes. These are all factors whose possible links to autism, however tentative, have been flagged in pregnancy handbooks. Such manuals are packed with warnings about everything from diet and exercise to what position a mother-to-be sleeps in, and how these everyday decisions might affect your pregnancy or unborn child. In the midst of so much advice, it can be tempting to adopt a “better safe than sorry” approach.

Now, expectant parents are faced with fresh advice, this time from none other than US president Donald Trump, who warned against taking the painkiller paracetamol (also known as acetaminophen) during pregnancy. While it is true that some studies have found correlations between paracetamol use in pregnancy and risk of autism, there is no convincing evidence that the drug itself is responsible. A recent study of millions of children comparing siblings who to it suggests that any observed link may be due to other factors (see, ).

Taking the cautious approach can also backfire. Over a quarter of a century since it was published, Andrew Wakefield’s study that appeared to implicate the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine in autism has been refuted, retracted and thoroughly debunked. But that hasn’t been enough to kill off the suggestion of a link between this vaccine and autism, despite there being no evidence. There have been 40 measles outbreaks in the US this year, so it is clear bad health advice can lead to preventable disease and deaths decades later.

Unfortunately, years of research into how best to combat misinformation in the internet age has yielded surprisingly few solutions. For all the , from the merits of “pre-bunking” myths to the need to debunk regularly, once a dangerous piece of health advice shoots to prominence, it is certain to cause harm – especially when future parents feel encouraged to avoid all risk.