Inducing labor may be tied to autism, study says

[Anonymous]

Saw this last evening.
I know these studies come out all the time...but this is actually the first one I'd seen mentioning this connection.
DS was post-term(?? "late") and in distress and labor was induced with drugs.
Between ages 2 and 7 has was diagnosed as PDD-NOS and AS.

CHICAGO (AP) — The biggest study of its kind suggests autism might be linked with inducing and speeding up labor, preliminary findings that need investigating since labor is induced in increasing numbers of U.S. women, the authors and other autism experts say.
It's possible that labor-inducing drugs might increase the risk — or that the problems that lead doctors to start labor explain the results. These include mothers' diabetes and fetal complications, which have previously been linked with autism.

http://health.yahoo.net/news/s/ap/inducing-labor-may-be-tied-to-autism-study-says

[Anonymous]

I saw this yesterday. Can anyone explain the quote below?

"Among autistic boys, almost one-third of the mothers had labor started or hastened, versus almost 29 percent of the boys without autism."

Isn't 'almost one-third' basically the same as 29%?

[Anonymous]

i will explain:

That's bad writing to explain a (probably) statistically significant difference that didn't sound that big to the writer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I saw this yesterday. Can anyone explain the quote below?

"Among autistic boys, almost one-third of the mothers had labor started or hastened, versus almost 29 percent of the boys without autism."

Isn't 'almost one-third' basically the same as 29%?

Does this mean that 62% of the mothers in the study were induced or had pitocin at some point?

[Anonymous]

I thought it was somewhat well-established that autism was related to early prenatal circumstances?

[Anonymous]

My DS with autism was post-term (late) and induced. I often wondered if there was a connection.

[Anonymous]

The abstract of the study suggests that the connection is likely that certain factors both make induced labor more likely and make autism more likely, not that induced labor leads to autism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The abstract of the study suggests that the connection is likely that certain factors both make induced labor more likely and make autism more likely, not that induced labor leads to autism.

Yes, that is what I took away from the article as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The abstract of the study suggests that the connection is likely that certain factors both make induced labor more likely and make autism more likely, not that induced labor leads to autism.

Yes, that is what I took away from the article as well.

This is also the conclusion that many articles about SSRI use are coming to - the underlying condition makes issues more likely, not the drugs used to treat the condition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The abstract of the study suggests that the connection is likely that certain factors both make induced labor more likely and make autism more likely, not that induced labor leads to autism.

+1. And a theory that induction leads to autism is at odds with the fact that aspergers runs in families (certainly in our case)

[Anonymous]

Mine was induced due to failure to progress in labor. I'm pretty sure without the medical intervention he would have been at risk for many serious issues including death. Not saying autism isn't serious and we are grateful our son has HFA. We have spent a small fortune and have seen lots of progress. We are most grateful he is a live and healthy and it is worth any amount of EI to have this.

[Anonymous]

I kinda believe this article. i was induced 2 weeks early because they didn't want me to have another big baby. I could have waited til 40 weeks, I didn't need to go at 38... But, I still think it's crap research and crap writing

the article that really pissed me off was the one in the Washington Post yesterday "linking" Anorexia and Autism. So many bad assumptions about both issues!

[Anonymous]

There's only correlation. No cause and effect link.

Genetics is the biggest cause for any disorder that runs in the family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's only correlation. No cause and effect link.

Genetics is the biggest cause for any disorder that runs in the family.

+1! It's a complicated issue and that article doesn't have all the answers. I delivered early and DS is on the spectrum, but that's anecdotal evidence. More studies are needed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's only correlation. No cause and effect link.

Genetics is the biggest cause for any disorder that runs in the family.

So could it be genetics...then the inducement drug is the trigger.