Inducing labour may contribute to autism

Autism might be linked with inducing and speeding up labour, preliminary findings suggest.

Why babies were being induced in the first place still needs to be considered

The biggest study of its kind suggests autism might be linked with inducing and speeding up labour, preliminary findings that need investigating since labour is induced in increasing numbers of U.S. women, the authors and other autism experts say.

It's possible that labour-inducing drugs might increase the risk — or that the problems that lead doctors to start labour explain the results. These include mothers' diabetes and fetal complications, which have previously been linked with autism.

There is a growing consensus that risks for autism occur before birth or soon after. (Veejay Villafranca/Getty )

Like most research into autism causes, the study doesn't provide conclusive answers, and the authors say the results shouldn't lead doctors to avoid inducing labour or speeding it up since it can be life-saving for mothers and babies.


Government data suggest 1 in 5 U.S. women have labour induced — twice as many as in 1990.


The researchers examined eight years of North Carolina birth records, and matched 625,042 births with public school data from the late 1990s through 2008. Information on autism diagnoses didn't specify whether cases were mild or severe. Labour was induced or hastened in more than 170,000 births.


Oxytocin and prostaglandins are used to start or speed up labour but the study doesn't identify specific medications.

The strongest risks were in boys whose mothers had labour started and hastened. They were 35 per cent more likely to have autism.

Among girls, autism was not tied to induced labour; it was only more common in those born after labour was accelerated; they were 18 per cent more likely to have the developmental disorder than girls whose mothers had neither treatment.


The study's biggest strength is bolstering the growing consensus that risks for autism occur before birth or soon after, said Dr. Byron King, director of Seattle Children's Hospital's autism centre. He was not involved in the study.