What females risk giving birth to children with autism

Females who receive antidepressants before or during pregnancy are 81% more likely to have children with autism.

According to experts, mothers born to mothers who use anti-depressive drugs have a higher risk, up to 77 % for autism spectrum disorders. However, Irene Petersen, a researcher at College University in London who was not part of the study, said it is complicated to study drug exposure to pregnancy and the risk of ASDA, since the effects of drug use are often difficult to separate from other risk factors.

With existing evidence, we still can't rule out the possibility that this is a mother's disease and not drugs against depression”, researchers say. According to figures about one in seven women suffer from depression during pregnancy. Although many cases are small, some 20,000 pregnant women are thought to take medication against depression every year - about one in 25 British women. NHS warns that medicines are not recommended for pregnant women.

However, there are exceptions to depression. Dr. Patrick O'Brien, spokesman for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, earlier said: “Depression in pregnancy can be very serious for a woman and can affect her child's health, so we have to consider the benefits of antidepressive drugs in such cases. Our advice to pregnant women who suffer from depression would generally be to weigh the benefits more than the risks, and this should be done with an obstetrician doctor. ”