Common intervention during childbirth increases risk of autism

A new study links a common intervention during childbirth to an increased risk of autism. University of Michigan and Duke University researchers found pregnant women whose labors are induced or augmented with drugs may have an increased risk of having children with autism, especially if the baby is male, says CBS Local.

Compared with children born to mothers who received neither labor induction nor augmentation, children born to mothers who were induced and augmented, induced only, or augmented only experienced increased odds of autism after controlling for potential confounders related to socioeconomic status, maternal health, pregnancy-related events and conditions, and birth year. The observed associations between labor induction/augmentation were particularly pronounced in male children, according to the study results, informs News-Medical.net.

Scientists who studied data on around 625,000 births found the chances of a boy developing autism increased by 35% if his mother underwent two forms of assisted labour, informs Belfast Telegraph.