With Autism being such a prevalent thing in our country today, parents are trying their best to understand it. While even doctors don’t have the answers about what causes autism, and why some kids get it when others don’t, research is constantly being done to help us all better understand this disease. The question has come up recently, “Can fertility treatments contribute to autism?” Today we are going to find out what the experts have to say. Claim Your 20 Free Pregnancy Tests – Click Here
The most recent study, conducted by Harvard University’s School of Public Health, involved 111 women whose children have some form of Autism Spectrum Disorder. The study asked the moms many different questions. Among the things the study asked were questions about their health backgrounds, fertility backgrounds, and the use of ovulation-inducing medications.
The results came back as quite surprising to most of the experts that conducted the study. The study results showed that around 35 percent of the moms who had an autistic child had went through fertility treatments to get pregnant. In the comparison group of around 4000 mothers whose children did not have autism, only 24 percent had used fertility drugs. Almost half of all of the moms with autistic kids had reported that they had fertility issues. Even more surprising? The longer a woman had taken fertility treatments, the more likely she was to have a child with autism.
The results of this study in no way mean that the “cause” of autism has been found. Not every child with autism was born to a mother who had fertility treatments. The results have garnered the attention of some autism experts, however, researchers warn against drawing too many conclusions from these study. While early reports from this study suggest that women who have fertility treatments are up to twice as likely to give birth to autistic children; it is not by any means conclusive evidence. Experts say that there could be many issues with the study, and more research is needed in this area.
The bottom line is that much more research is needed in this area. It is a great thing that research has shown us a possible link between fertility treatments and autism, but experts agree that this risk is very small, and women who suffer from infertility should not be alarmed. As additional research is done in this area, we will get a better idea of how fertility treatments affect the autism rate, and what we can do about this link, if there really is one.
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