- Feb 2, 2008
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In the new study, researchers looked at the birth records of more than 625,000 babies born in North Carolina between 1990 and 1998, and compared those with public school records to see who was later diagnosed with autism.
According to the researchers, 1.3 percent of boys and 0.4 percent of girls were diagnosed with autism. Specifically, boys born to moms whose labor was induced or helped along were 35 percent more likely to develop autism, compared with their counterparts. Among girls, only augmented labor was associated with an increased risk for autism. The increased risk of autism held even after researchers controlled for other factors such as the mother's age.
Exactly how labor induction could affect autism risk is unknown, but the drug oxytocin may play a role.
http://www.webmd.com/baby/news/20130812/induced-labor-linked-to-raised-risk-of-autism-study-suggests
Children born at 37 weeks gestation scored an average of 1 point lower than children born at 41 weeks. That translates into about 1.5 IQ points.
While the difference in IQ may not seem like much, the researchers also found that babies born at 37 weeks were 23 percent more likely to show moderate reading impairment and 19 percent more likely to struggle with math.
http://www.whattoexpect.com/wom/pregnancy/0705/longer-pregnancy-may-mean-smarter-kids.aspx
Doctors and patients are sometimes inducing labor for frivolous reasons, like to avoid giving birth on holidays. Here is one example:
When I was pregnant with my third baby, my due date came and went with no signs of delivery. My doctor scheduled me for an elective induction as a matter of course — time to get the show on the road! Not so fast, I said. I canceled the induction.
Making inducement also controversial is the way it's apparently the case that ultrasounds and similar pre-birth evidence isn't enough to make good estimations about infant size. An article I read today said medical professionals would guess wrong roughly half the time based on that data. Induced births are linked with a higher chance of the baby needing to be placed in intensive care as well as a higher rate of them needing to be delivered by C section (although this latter issue could be because of infant size).
So, the bottom line here is that it's important to do inducement only when it's definitely necessary. It may be a good idea to try to avoid oxytocin also.
According to the researchers, 1.3 percent of boys and 0.4 percent of girls were diagnosed with autism. Specifically, boys born to moms whose labor was induced or helped along were 35 percent more likely to develop autism, compared with their counterparts. Among girls, only augmented labor was associated with an increased risk for autism. The increased risk of autism held even after researchers controlled for other factors such as the mother's age.
Exactly how labor induction could affect autism risk is unknown, but the drug oxytocin may play a role.
http://www.webmd.com/baby/news/20130812/induced-labor-linked-to-raised-risk-of-autism-study-suggests
Children born at 37 weeks gestation scored an average of 1 point lower than children born at 41 weeks. That translates into about 1.5 IQ points.
While the difference in IQ may not seem like much, the researchers also found that babies born at 37 weeks were 23 percent more likely to show moderate reading impairment and 19 percent more likely to struggle with math.
http://www.whattoexpect.com/wom/pregnancy/0705/longer-pregnancy-may-mean-smarter-kids.aspx
Doctors and patients are sometimes inducing labor for frivolous reasons, like to avoid giving birth on holidays. Here is one example:
When I was pregnant with my third baby, my due date came and went with no signs of delivery. My doctor scheduled me for an elective induction as a matter of course — time to get the show on the road! Not so fast, I said. I canceled the induction.
Making inducement also controversial is the way it's apparently the case that ultrasounds and similar pre-birth evidence isn't enough to make good estimations about infant size. An article I read today said medical professionals would guess wrong roughly half the time based on that data. Induced births are linked with a higher chance of the baby needing to be placed in intensive care as well as a higher rate of them needing to be delivered by C section (although this latter issue could be because of infant size).
So, the bottom line here is that it's important to do inducement only when it's definitely necessary. It may be a good idea to try to avoid oxytocin also.
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