Autism Risk May Be Raised for Children When Labor Induced

[xchrom]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-12/autism-risk-may-be-raised-for-children-when-labor-induced.html

Boys born to mothers who needed their doctor to start or help along the birth may have a higher risk of autism, a study found.

Boys whose mothers had labors that were induced, which stimulates the uterus to bring on contractions, or augmented, which increases the strength, duration and frequency of contractions, had a 35 percent greater risk of autism then children whose mothers didn’t need those procedures to help the births, according to research in JAMA Pediatrics.

The study released yesterday is the largest to examine the potential link between birth procedures and autism and to find that males may be more affected than females, said Simon Gregory, the lead author. While induced labors help reduce deaths among mothers and babies, more studies are needed to better understand why these procedures may raise autism risk, he said.

“The study shows there is an elevated risk around augmentation and induction, however we haven’t found cause and effect,” Gregory, an associate professor of medicine and medical genetics at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, said in a telephone interview. “The results don’t dictate there be any change in any clinical practices surrounding birth. The dangers to the mothers and the infants by not inducting or augmenting far outweigh the elevated risk for development of autism.”

[Ian David]

1. Or, whatever it is that causes mothers to need to be induced, also contributes to autism. n/t

[Stargazer09]

2. A calendar is usually the cause

Most people haven't yet realized that normal pregnancies can exceed the 42-week limit currently imposed upon women.

Granted, there are cases in which something else is wrong, but for the most part, labors are induced for convenience or because the calculated due date says it is time for the baby to be born.

Combine a tired, sore, uncomfortable pregnant woman with a doctor afraid of malpractice if he/she doesn't ensure the baby arrives within the standard time frame, and you have a recipe for an overuse of induction.