Study: Induced labor may raise autism risk

Boys born to mothers who needed their doctor to start or help along the birth may have a higher risk of autism, a study found.

Boys whose mothers had labors that were induced, which stimulates the uterus to bring on contractions, or augmented, which increases the strength, duration and frequency of contractions, had a 35 percent greater risk of autism than children whose mothers didn't need those procedures, according to research published yesterday in JAMA Pediatrics.

The study is the largest to examine the potential link between birth procedures and autism, and to find that males may be more affected than females, said lead author Simon Gregory, an associate professor of medicine and medical genetics at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C. While induced labors help reduce deaths among mothers and babies, more studies are needed to better understand why these procedures may raise autism risk, he said.

Gregory said multiple issues may contribute to higher autism risk, such as the woman's health, the unborn child's health, the reason for induction or augmentation, and other drugs used at the time of birth.