Hypertension, Obesity, Diabetes Associated With Autism

HealthDay (5/11, Goodwin) reported that, according to research presented at the International Meeting for Autism Research, “having the flu during pregnancy isn’t associated with a heightened risk of autism or developmental delay in children, although having a fever during pregnancy might be.” In addition, “giving birth by Cesarean section isn’t associated with autism in offspring, but having diabetes or high blood pressure or being obese while pregnant seems to be.”

In addition, “the mothers of children who were delayed developmentally were about 150% more likely to be obese before pregnancy, have diabetes, or have high blood pressure,” WebMD (5/11, Doheny) reported.