Heather Bedard, C.H.E.
The health of the mother while pregnant plays a big part in the risk of her child being born with autism. If the mother has had a bacterial or viral infection in the first and second trimesters the risk of autism also increases (1,2) or if she takes a combination of anti-depressants during the 2nd and 3rd trimester. (3,4) There is a 4x higher incidence of autism associated with this than there would be with a mother not taking anti-depressants.(5,6,7) Unfortunately, these factors affect male babies to a much larger extent than females.
Other drugs given to the mother for seizures and bipolar disorder can also have an effect on the potential for developing autism in the baby.(8( Further risk factors for the baby include daily maternal smoking, caesarean birth, and being small for their gestational age.(1)
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1. Hultman C, Sparen P, Cnattingius S. “Perinatal Risk Factors for Infantile Autism.” Epidemiol 2002 Jul;13(4):417-423
2. Atladottir H, thorsen P, Ostergaard L et al. “Maternal infection requiring hospitalization during pregnancy and autism spectrum disorders.”
3. J Autism Disord 2010 Dec;40(12):1423-30. Ciaranello A, Ciaranello R. “The neurobiology of infantile autism.” Annu Rev Neurosci 1995;18:101-128
4. Boukhris T, Sheehy O, Mottron L et al. “Antidepressant Use During Pregnancy and the Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Children.” JAMA Pediatr 2016;170(2):117-124
5. Harrington R, Lee L, Crum R, Zimmerman A, Hertz-Picciotto I. “Prenatal SSRI use and offspring with autism spectrum disorder or developmental delay.” Pediatrics 2014 May;133(5):e1241-1248
6. Croen L, Grether J, Yoshida C, Odouli R, Hendrick V. “Antidepressant use during pregnancy and childhood autism spectrum disorders.” Arch Gen Psychiatr 2011 Nov;68(11):1104-1112
7. Rai D, Lee B, Dalman C, Golding J, Lewis G, Magnusson C. “Parental depression, maternal antidepressant use dring pregnancy, and risk of autism spectrum disorders: population based case-control study.” BMJ 2013;346:f2059
8. Arndt T, Stodgell C, Rodier P. “The teratology of autism.” Int J Dev Neuro 2005 Apr-May;23(2-3):189-199