This week, two studies from the large CDC funded study called the Study to Explore Early Development were published that examines probability of having a child with autism after infertility treatments (first paper) and long or short times between pregnancies (second paper).  These studies put to rest some of the questions moms have been interested in.  First, it’s infertility not infertility treatments that is linked to autism, and second, spacing pregnancies too close together or too far apart is also associated with an increased probability of having a child with severe autism symptoms.  This podcast explains what the studies mean and what parents should know.  The references are here:

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29164825

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28900768