Obesity during pregnancy may increase chances for having a child with autism

I found this new research study very interesting. Please remember that more research is needed to prove the correlation, and that it may only be one contributing factor.


Obesity during pregnancy may increase chances for having a child with autism, provocative new research suggests.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/...m-obesity.html

U.S. autism rates have increased along with obesity rates and the research suggests that may be more than a coincidence.


More research is needed to confirm the results. But if mothers' obesity is truly related to autism, it may be only one of many contributing factors.

Interesting that they've found that link. I can't say that link has been there in my own personal experience though. I've been working with kids with autism since 1995 and I can't remember any of the mothers being obese. I hope they do find the cause someday, but sometimes in the process it just seems like they are grasping at straws.

Nope, I don't think so.

I think the answer just may come forth through the research of gene mutations

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/...rticle2393106/
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Autism/...3#.T4MtZXnizHg
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/s...to-autism.html

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Interesting research out there....I was surprised to hear recently that the rates have increased so dramatically...I certainly hope they can find the cause....

Story of my life. I WOULD NOT DOUBT a connection to insulin and Autism.

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It's crazy how fast the rate of autism (spectrum) is growing. People are worried how we will be able to handle the care costs for Seniors in a decade? Try thinking about the cost of caring for all these autistic kids in 10 years. My nephew is autistic and he can do simple things, but he will always need constant care.
I believe it's a combination of things that react diffierently in different individuals. Similarly to cancer. It starts as a dormant cell but is "activated" by something. . .but not the same thing in every person. Just like Heart disease and cancer, I think it's the food we eat and the air we breathe.

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Originally Posted by lecale

I just want to add, on the bright side, have you heard of Carly Fleischmann? She is a Canadian teenage, non-verbal autistic girl. HOWEVER, at the age of ten she suddenly showed she was able to type messages, shocking her family. She and her father have very recently published a book called Carly's Voice...amazing story; her autism is very severe. It is totally amazing hearing her describe what it is like to be trapped in a body that is so badly affected by this disorder. If you need a pick-me-up, search her story on the web. (She also maintains a Facebook page.)

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I heard about her story a few years ago, awesome that they have a book, will have to look into it!


As per the topic, it seems a lot of things have been implicated with 'causing' autism. It will be interesting to see with more research!

I don't think the rates of autism are increasing, simply more are being diagnosed - especially as the definition of the spectrum has become more all-encompassing.

There are changes being proposed for the definition before the new edition of the DSM comes out - they are hoping to narrow the definition and bring more clarity to it.

http://www.hillsdale.net/news/x11706...edefine-autism
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_1...ith-aspergers/

There was an interesting documentary special on Autism on CBC back just before Christmas. I really enjoyed it, as did my Mom who works with a lot of autistic children in her special needs class. According to the documentary, there are likely multiple causes of autism; some cases may be linked to genes, others to environment, etc. I think that this multiple cause model is probable - autism manifests very, very differently in some children versus others and I think that something so complex and difficult to manage couldn't possibly have a single cause. Just my two cents.

Here's a link to the Nature of Things documentary:
http://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/epi...sm-enigma.html

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I don't think we will ever fully find out what causes Autism. My son was diagnosed just in November with ADHD and ASD at the age of 8. Not something I was shocked to know since he has many of the signs and even his teachers made comments about this. (we knew about the ADHD but had to jump through hoops to get a formal evaluation done) He is almost 9 but functions mentally at the level of a 5 year old.

I personally don't buy into the obese mother bs. I was not over weight in fact I had to fight to gain enough weight when I was pregnant. Plus I know many other mothers who were also not obese. I think the rates are going up because more and more doctors are taking the time to diagnose these kids properly. My son was first diagnosed as ADHD and ODD. After seeing a specialist the ODD was taken away as he never had that but rather a form of Autism.

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Originally Posted by glowworm2k

There was an interesting documentary special on Autism on CBC back just before Christmas. I really enjoyed it, as did my Mom who works with a lot of autistic children in her special needs class. According to the documentary, there are likely multiple causes of autism; some cases may be linked to genes, others to environment, etc. I think that this multiple cause model is probable - autism manifests very, very differently in some children versus others and I think that something so complex and difficult to manage couldn't possibly have a single cause. Just my two cents.

Here's a link to the Nature of Things documentary:
http://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/epi...sm-enigma.html

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Thank you for posting this link. I just finished watching the video and can say for certain that there are a lot of things that the biologists are talking about with the microbes in the gut that I see with my boys.....even with myself. My body reacts badly to carbs, same with my boys. I find that there is an increase in their behaviors. My youngest, who is more severe, had an operation as a baby because of intestinal issues and was on antibiotics. He has constant stomach issues.
These past few days have been hard......I am in mourning for my sons Autism, again, lol, so seeing this video helped me laugh, made me cry and gave me strength.
Thank you again.

I have a BMI over 30 and had that with both my kids...they both seem fine to date! I never had high blood pressure or diabetes while pregnant. But I do know friends who has a smaller BMI then me, but had high blood pressure and/or diabetes while pregnant.

I don't think so.

I hope they prove this totally wrong:( Mom's have a tough enough time

subscribing to watch video later...