Autism is known as one of the most common health problems these days and according to some studies, it may have something to do with the drugs women take during their pregnancy.
About 10% of pregnant women take antidepressants, most of them started even before they got pregnant. The medications known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRIs are significant in the treatment of depression, but they also come with a warning that pregnant women shouldn't take it because it can harm the development of the baby. Some studies even relate the drugs to an increased risk of birth defects, while others believe that the risk was exaggerated.
In a new study published in JAMA Pediatrics, researchers are trying to straighten out how safe antidepressants are for pregnant women. They looked at links between the prescription medications and autism in children of those women who used antidepressants during their pregnancy. The latest study discovered a slight increased number of autism cases among children of antidepressant users, but experts say that the risk is not very serious.
Previous studies examining the same risk showed opposite results; some found a link while others did not. However, past studies include small numbers of women and their children, so Anick Berard, professor of perinatal epidemiology at the University of Montreal, and her team diverted their focus to a much larger scale: all babies born in Quebec between the years 1998 and 2009. They compared whether the mothers filled a prescription for an antidepressant a year before they got pregnant, just before or anytime during pregnancy with another factor: diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder in their infants.
It was then found out that among all the single births, the risk was the highest among those expectant mothers who started using antidepressants during their second or third trimesters than those getting the medication during their first trimester. That makes sense, says Berard because of the anatomical development of organs happens early during gestation, brain development may be at risk of autism, starts later.
