Housecall For Health: Possible Link Between Autism & Inducing Labor

A new study suggests a possible link between autism and inducing labor, at a time when induced labor is on the rise.

FOX News Radio’s Lisa Brady reports:

The largest study of its kind so far, involving more than 600,000 births in North Carolina suggests that inducing or speeding up labor could increase the risk of autism. However, researchers at Duke University say they did not find a connection for cause and effect. So, it’s possible the reason for inducing or speeding up labor in the first place, could be the autism link. In this study, three times more boys than girls developed autism. And, boys from labor induced and accelerated had the strongest risk; 35% more likely to have autism. Government data suggests twice as many women have labor induced today as in 1990.

Lisa Brady, FOX News Radio.

Editor’s Note: The study was government funded and published online Monday in JAMA Pediatrics.

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