"strong" link between prenatal vitamins and autism

mollybloom · May 2011

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110525112109.htm

I started taking prenatals religiously at 2 weeks after I concieved. Ovulated on the 14th and got the BFP on the 28th of Dec. So, I got in prenatals the last two weeks that it matters for autism?

Why do they constantly give us things to worry about?

blech

jen102279 · May 2011

I know it's always something...

I've got a friend who's getting married in June, and has been taking prenatals for at least a month already. Their "plan" is to get pregnant on their honeymoon... they have done everything in their power to try and make the timing right...

She'll be thrilled to read this...

Pina · May 2011

Seriously, I don't even read articles like this to upset myself. I was taking prenatals before I even got pregnant, but I honestly don't believe that will prevent anything from happening. IMO not enough is known about Autism and its causes. Speculations are a load of crap that make mothers terrified. I believe it is a predispostioned illness that children are just wired to develop...... until strong research says otherwise, do what you can to be a good mommy, and accept the outcome.

dianamcu · May 2011

I began taking prenatals when we started trying to concieve, so I have 6 months worth of prental vitamins in me before seeing a BFP.

amandaloren · May 2011

dianamcu:
I began taking prenatals when we started trying to concieve, so I have 6 months worth of prental vitamins in me before seeing a BFP.

Same here

dianamcu · May 2011

Pina:
Seriously, I don't even read articles like this to upset myself. I was taking prenatals before I even got pregnant, but I honestly don't believe that will prevent anything from happening. IMO not enough is known about Autism and its causes. Speculations are a load of crap that make mothers terrified. I believe it is a predispostioned illness that children are just wired to develop...... until strong research says otherwise, do what you can to be a good mommy, and accept the outcome.

lmjt · May 2011

I never took prenatals until I got a BFP, and I'm sincerely not concerned.

IF my kid is going to be autistic, he will be. Nothing I can do about it now, I'm certainly not going to sit and worry.

iahlgren · May 2011

Of course, the prenatal vitamins strongly reduce the risk of various birth defects. It seems like that might outweigh the concerns over the link between prenatal vitamins and autism?

In any case, before I knew I was pregnant I was taking a women's one-a-day vitamin that was supposed to have enough folic acid. I only switched to a prenatal at around 6 weeks when I went to the doctor to confirm the pregnancy.

iahlgren · May 2011

Ooops... for some reason was thinking you meant that the vitamins would increase the risk of autism. Just looked at the article link. Interesting. Hopefully my vitamins were good enough!

julygal · May 2011

I think studies like these are interesting and worth considering in the planning stages (I mean why not start the prenatals early in the off chance it might help avoid autism), but I don't let these studies worry me about what is done. It is just statistics and while I only skimmed the article I only saw a correlation not a cause.

Something else to consider: My sister planned her pregnancy, took her prenatals while conceiving, etc. Her son was borderline autistic (a few points away from being on the spectrum). My DD was a complete surprise, and I didn't begin taking prenatals until I was 6 weeks along, and she has no autistic tendencies.

There are some things that are just out of our control, and I think autism currently falls into that category. Not to say that there might be something in the study, but our understanding of autism, and in particular its causes, is very minimal.

lovelyophelia · May 2011

The best advice I can give you is to stop looking at stuff like that. Most people don't understand statistics to interpret the data. A lot of it is particular wording that convinces you to believe it is truth, sometimes when there is no correlation at all. Seriously ladies, do yourselves a favor and step away from it. We do not know a cause and people are blindly looking for one. Autism has warning signs. I would worry more about what I should look for to get my child the earliest possible intervention for the best outcome.

lily87 · May 2011

Well this kind of made me feel better. I took them for 6 months before TTC, largely because you can store up folic acid which is the most important thing to have in the 1st month. And, I have had a hard time taking them since with the morning sickness, but my dr. said they are most important in the 1st two months (though obviously you should continue to take them even when breastfeeding).

That said, this is one study. I think no one really knows the cause of autism at this point. So, it may be valid. It may not. It is interesting, but I wouldn't take it as gospel by any means.

HNLchick · May 2011

I think this is the take away message from that article:

"It is widely accepted that autism spectrum disorders are the result of multiple factors, that it would be extremely rare to find someone who had a single cause for this behavioral syndrome"

But since it doesn't hurt to take those Prenatals...

actres · May 2011

Well a prenatal is not actually what you have to take. It said the folic acid or folate is what you need to be getting. Just like Nueral tube defects is what it said if I read corrrectly. Maybe I did not read it carefully enough but I would think if you were taking a normal one a day vitamin it should have enough folic acid in it to help with both nueral tube and autism if this article does in fact have any truth to it. I think people can make the results look like anything they want them to. I am sure some company that makes prenatals helped to fund this research so the researchers would promote taking prenntals more. Those things are not cheap and I am sure the more money they can get from you the more they will try and take espcially with scare tactics. Just a thought.

elynds · May 2011

lily87:
Well this kind of made me feel better. I took them for 6 months before TTC, largely because you can store up folic acid which is the most important thing to have in the 1st month. And, I have had a hard time taking them since with the morning sickness, but my dr. said they are most important in the 1st two months (though obviously you should continue to take them even when breastfeeding).
That said, this is one study. I think no one really knows the cause of autism at this point. So, it may be valid. It may not. It is interesting, but I wouldn't take it as gospel by any means.

Agreed - I started taking prenatals instead of my regular vitamins a few years ago - my husband said if I was taking a vitamin anyway that I might as well take a prenatal. While autism is not something I would want for my children, I do think it's far less scary than a lot of the birth defects that are proven to be caused by a lack of folic acid (neural tube defects, specifically).

I think everyone is so anxious to find a "cause" for autism because diagnosis is relatively new, but currently we haven't found one. Prenatal vitamins are important in pregnancy anyway, so you should take them, but I NOT taking them isn't going to give your child autism.

ermaderma · May 2011

lily87:

Well this kind of made me feel better. I took them for 6 months before TTC, largely because you can store up folic acid which is the most important thing to have in the 1st month. And, I have had a hard time taking them since with the morning sickness, but my dr. said they are most important in the 1st two months (though obviously you should continue to take them even when breastfeeding).

That said, this is one study. I think no one really knows the cause of autism at this point. So, it may be valid. It may not. It is interesting, but I wouldn't take it as gospel by any means.

This.

My ob/gyn actually recommends all women within childbearing age take prenatals. Maybe she was on to something and kind of knew about this study or whether it is just coincidence, I think I'll be taking prenatals instead of a regular multivitamin.

jennyhazz · May 2011

ermaderma:
lily87:

Well this kind of made me feel better. I took them for 6 months before TTC, largely because you can store up folic acid which is the most important thing to have in the 1st month. And, I have had a hard time taking them since with the morning sickness, but my dr. said they are most important in the 1st two months (though obviously you should continue to take them even when breastfeeding).

That said, this is one study. I think no one really knows the cause of autism at this point. So, it may be valid. It may not. It is interesting, but I wouldn't take it as gospel by any means.

This.

My ob/gyn actually recommends all women within childbearing age take prenatals. Maybe she was on to something and kind of knew about this study or whether it is just coincidence, I think I'll be taking prenatals instead of a regular multivitamin.

Mine too - the entire practice encourages prenatals or a one-a-day with folic acid supplement for all of their childbearing-age patients. I always took the approach of the prenatals having components that were good for me to intake (folic acid, iron, etc), whether it was for pregnancy or not.

In terms of the article, I try and take research like that with a grain of salt. There is so much that is unknown with autism research, and until the medical community can determine a solid connection between autism and a particular action, I'm going to try my best to not ignore research, but to make sure I am well-versed on all sides of the discussion. But thanks OP for posting it!

Azrayla · May 2011

..they don't know what causes autism.. someone posted a link regarding habit children too close together 2u2 and such causes autism.. im sorry tomorrow they'll say if you cough too often or blink wrong you've doomed your child to autism.. and don't eat potato chips!..

phishphood · May 2011

Azrayla:
..they don't know what causes autism.. someone posted a link regarding habit children too close together 2u2 and such causes autism.. im sorry tomorrow they'll say if you cough too often or blink wrong you've doomed your child to autism.. and don't eat potato chips!..

Yes

Let's not forget about how they were so "sure" that vaccinations caused autism not so long ago.

lovelyophelia · May 2011

You know I would believe the potato chips thing if they had Olestra. Those things got pulled pretty quick.

moxie9 · May 2011

Everything about pregnancy is so terrifying these days. Don't eat this cheese, worry about mercury, don't sleep this way, don't go through security detectors at the airport, worry about too much stress, worry about worrying, etc., etc. I wonder what is was like to be pregnant in the 60's? I picture women drinking vodka tonics, smoking cigarettes, and riding roller coasters. Where's the happy medium between neglect and complete-over-the-top concern about every environmental and personal factor?

NYChick · May 2011

I misunderstood - from reading the title of the thread and this convo, I though the study said that prenatal vitamins CAUSE autism!!But I looked at the article, and now I see that it's the opposite.

It doesn't seem like it would be that crazy for women to start taking prenatals earlier. I hate all of these fear-inspiring studies too, but at least it doesn't conflict with current recommendations.

Amanda&EricB · May 2011

I have been taking prenatal vitamins for years- some OB years ago told me they were really good vitamins for any woman of child-bearing age. But, I don't feel like it's an advantage- how many millions of women don't take prenatals until they know they are pregnant? How many don't take them at all?

phishphood · May 2011

lovelyophelia:
You know I would believe the potato chips thing if they had Olestra. Those things got pulled pretty quick.

LOL I don't eat anything that says right on it that it may cause, ahem, leakage.

Miss Shasta · May 2011

I have an autistic cousin. Her dr says it's caused from her father being an alcoholic. They really have no clue what causes it. The banned tomatoes from my elementary school once because a "study" showed they caused cancer.

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